Sarah
by Lady Priscilla Violet Regina
Summary: Sarah Yuy was never told anything about her parents past, who keep her secluded and homeschooled. Heero trained her like he was, and Relena made her into a scholar. Until one day when Sarah questioned her father about a picture of the pilots and their Gun
1. “No one who sees a Gundam can be allowed...

Sarah

By: Priscilla Violet Regina

Disclaimer: Once I can say that there is a person in this story that is mine! Sarah Yuy is my creation! But, sadly, her parents and everyone else in this story, are not mine. ~.ó Too bad...you can't sue me!!!

Chapter 1

"No one who sees a Gundam can be allowed to live. That's my duty." -Trowa Barton

"The only way to lead a good life is to act on your emotions," is the one thing I remember my father telling me the most. He always said it, as if he knew I'd have many hard decisions ahead in my life. I never understood why he was the way he was, or what that statement really meant. Until now.

My mother always loved him, no matter what he did, or how difficult he made it for her. I could always see that. Each and every day her love for him grew, right along with mine. People never understood why she chose my father. Some say it was because of their dangerous flirtation in the early days. I discovered it was because she needed some action in her life. After she met him, everything changed. And wherever the chaos was, my father was normally in the middle of it, enjoying every second.

He was quiet man, not speaking unless he really had to. I used to love to sit and watch him, seated on the roof of our hose, gazing at the stars as if remembering some distant dream. I don't recall any of his friends, but in his study there was a picture on his desk of the five of them, all standing in a row. In the background there were five mobile suits, but different from the ones in my history book. I loved that picture. Mostly because my father looked so young and reckless. He never told me any of the other four's names, no matter how much I begged. He would just respond with, "Just some old friends," and leave it at that. My favorite had always been the minister. He had a long braid, past his waist, and was dressed like a reverend. He just seemed so happy, so nice...He had a huge smile across his face, from ear to ear, yet he seemed sad. That was why he was my favorite. Because he was such an enigma to figure out. I could tell all this from a photograph.

There weren't any other pictures of them around house. Just that one. Mother had pictures of her family everywhere, and her high school friends; and in her room there was a picture of her only brother, Miliardo. It always confused me that he wasn't in any of the family pictures with Mother and their parents, but I put in the back of my mind. He had long, platinum blonde hair, and icy blue eyes that pierced my soul. He was holding some sort of a mask, and dressed like he was in the military. That's what Mother had told me. She said he had died in the war between the Space Colonies and Earth, and that he was the rank of Colonel at the time.

My parents home schooled me my whole life. They kept me away from most people-secluded, you could call it. They never told me much about what they did in their high school years, or what went on. Not even how they met, which is why I wanted to go to a public school so badly. I needed answers to my many, many questions.

Neither Mother nor Father ever said much about the war. They said they didn't know a whole lot about it because they were just silly teenagers when it happened, and they didn't care much about what was going on. When I asked either of them anything about it, Mother would look to Father and raise her eyebrows as if in question. Father would just shake his head and leave the room. But not this time.

"Father, don't you walk away from me!" I shouted. He paused, back still turned, and I felt he was about to strike me for raising my voice. To my surprise, instead, he faced me with a smile. Just the fact that he listened startled me, but a smile? I had only seen him smile maybe once or twice, and those were only while we were playing video games and he was about to kill me, and even then they weren't like now. Those were a little more demonic. Now, he seemed proud.

"I have been waiting for years for you to say that, Sarah," he replied.

Confused as I was, I held my ground, just as he had taught me to do. "I want to know. Tell me. What are Gundams?" I repeated, feeling the confidence swelling.

"You really want to know?" he asked while glancing at Mother. I felt as if I was the odd man out on an inside joke, so my anger rose slightly.

Mother just stared back at him, eyes twinkling as a slow smile spread across her face. This time, it was she who nodded and gave the go-ahead. She then rose and left the room. My father's gaze followed her out the door, then turned back to me.

"Sarah, will you please shut the door?"

"Yes sir," I responded, striding over to close it. I took my place once again in his favorite leather chair, and folded my arms across my chest, awaiting his explanation.

"Well?" I asked after a few moments of silence. All he did was stare, his face an expressionless mask. I remember his monotone well...he barely ever admitted his feelings to be read in any way. Such as now. His Prussian blue eyes burned into through to the back of my head, which cause a slight shudder to run through me. I felt as if he were trying to read my thoughts; I was convinced he could for most of my early years.

"What do _you_ think the Gundams are?" he finally asked, still gazing my way. Reaching over, he grasped his only picture of the past and looked over it, smirking. I was speechless. What did I think the Gundams were? I did not have a clue; I had no idea of even where to begin. Seeing this, he cleared his throat and allowed a quick smile. "Let me rephrase that. Where did you hear of the Gundams? Certainly not from your mother or I...we do not speak of the past. At least, not to that extent. And the history we teach you does not contain any information about them...tell me, where did you hear of them?"

"Well...," How could I say I heard it from his very own lips? "Did you know that you talk in your sleep, Father?" I inquired, hoping he would understand what I was hinting towards.

"So, you've been practicing your eavesdropping? You've gotten quieter...I used to be able to hear you before you got out of bed. Maybe I'm just getting old..." he trailed off, looking me over with adoration and a whisper of a joke hovering about his personality.

"No, Father, no, I wasn't intentionally listening in. I was thirsty and I passed your door. You said something like 'There is no more need for the Gundams, now that the Colonies are at peace,' and it has been bothering me ever since. I want to know...tell me, please, Father," I pleaded with him, grasping his icy hands in mine.

He winced slightly as I touched him, but soon turned his scowl into a broad grin. "Ask me any questions you wish, and I will answer as well as I can...," 

"What are the Gundams?" I interrupted, impatient now.

"Except that. I'll explain how you are going to find the answer to that after your other questions, if you don't mind," he answered with a politeness that sickened me. Mother had always described him as a rebel, never following the rules, and especially not in high school, so why what he always so polite. Outcasts aren't polite! I found later that when she said rebel, she didn't mean what I thought she meant. I regained my composure after the disappointment of not receiving an answer to my question, and tried to think of a second. My mind went blank and I just sat there, mouth agape. "No questions?" he asked, still keeping his perfect military bearing. 'He would have made the Perfect Soldier, had he been in the war,' I thought, smiling.

Finally, after rethinking what I knew and had learned in "class" with Mother and Father, I cam up with an inquiry suitable for the occasion. "Why is your name the same as the late leader of the Colonies, back in the year AC 180?"

He sat back, and at first I thought him to laugh at such a silly question. Why was his the same as someone else's? But, once again, he surprised me. "My name," he began. "is not Heero Yuy. That is a name I was given when Operation Meteor started, back in the year After Colony 193, thirteen years after Heero Yuy died. I chose that name because I was to protect the Colonies and shelter them from the horrors of war as he once did. And I never relinquished it,"

This caused me to blink several times before I understood it all. By then, a million other questions stormed through my mind, and yet I couldn't bring myself to ask a single one. Finally I spurted out, "What was Uncle Miliardo's last name?"

"You've had a lot of questions about names...Peacecraft,"

"Yes?" I asked, thinking he was talking to me, since that was my middle name, and he called me it frequently, but only when Mother wasn't around. She always got teary eyed at it's mention, but why, I never knew.

"No, dear, not you. His full name is Miliardo Peacecraft, or Zechs Merquise, the Lightning Count...," he paused, allowing for all of that to sink in. "Do you remember that name from your mother's lessons? I'm sure it came up more than once when she talked about OZ, correct?"

"Yes...," I thought about this for a moment. Zechs Merquise, Miliardo Peacecraft...Zechs Merquise, Miliardo Peacecraft...Miliardo was holding a mask in Mother's picture, and Zechs wore one in all of the history books! Now, you must imagine, my head was swimming, and doing every stroke known to man. Even the butterfly. But, I didn't let any of this show, and continued as best I could to look as bored as possible-something Father excelled at.

"Sarah, do you have any other questions?" Father inquired. "I implore you, ask away...," he trailed off, awaiting my response. I was speechless. I literally had nothing to say. What could I say? My father had been apart of something called Operation Meteor, of which I had no knowledge, and my uncle was the famous Lightning Count. And Peacecraft...why was Miliardo's last name the same as my middle? I contemplated these facts, and remembered that Mother's full name was Relena Ann Darlian Yuy. Now, I had always thought that Darlian was her maiden name, but that would be that my uncle would need to be Miliardo Darlian, no Peacecraft.

"What is Darlian, then?" I asked without even knowing.

"That is your mother's maiden name," Father replied.

"But...,"

"Why is Miliardo's different? Because when your mother was little, she was hidden because her family was in trouble. They wanted to keep her safe, so she was adopted by Mr. Darlian, the former and late Vice Foreign Minister of the Colonies. Relena was informed of all of this before her adoptive father died, and she became an heir to the Peacecraft family...but only for a while. When the war ended, she took the name Darlian again, and then we got married a short while later. She kept the name Darlian in memory of her father, the man who raised her. Zechs unmasked himself when he left OZ and the Romefeller Foundation, and became Miliardo Peacecraft once again. But, now, I have said too much. you may have one more question before I inform you of your next mission," I always loved it when he called chores of mine "missions," it always made it seem more fun. Quickly, I decided upon my last query. Reaching out, I took the framed picture in my hands, and, holding it gingerly as though it were crystal, I spoke.

"Who are these people?" I asked while pointing at each of the other boys, resting my eyes upon the holy man for quite some time.

"My new mission for you requires you knowing the names of them, so I shall just continue as planned. Get a pen and paper, quickly now, and I will answer,"

When I was ready, he continued.

"Left to right, tallest to shortest I believe. Write this exactly as I tell you. Number 03, Trowa Barton. Number 05, Chang Wufei. Number 01, Heero Yuy, or me. Number 02, Duo Maxwell. Number 04, Quatre Raberba Winner. Do you have all of that? Do you need any spellings?" he asked. I shook my head and looked at the paper. After reading over the names, I gasped at seeing the last one.

"Raberba Winner? Isn't that the wealthiest family in the Colonies? Quatre is the sole heir, am I wrong?"

He smiled. "You've been paying attention to your Mother. Good girl. Yes, that is. And also, write this down. Tallgeese/Epyon, Zechs Merquise or Miliardo Peacecraft. Now, for the next part," He looked up, face as grave as usual, and stated plainly, "You must locate each and every one of these people,"


	2. “Of course all excellent and beautiful t...

Chapter 2

"Of course all excellent and beautiful things are to be praised." -Relena Darlian/Peacecraft

"What?!" was all I could say. Miliardo, Mother's brother, was dead! How was I supposed to find a dead person? The impossible task placed before me seemed insurmountable. Why couldn't my father just tell me about his past and the Gundams? It seemed useless though, as he shuffled through his desk drawers in a vain search. Finally, he pulled out an envelope.

"You may take this and whatever items you can carry. That is all. You have the whole summer to find each of these people and the answers you are searching for. If you make it back alive and can give me a proper explanation of what the Gundams are, then you may have the one thing your heart desires most. You may go to a public school for the rest of your high school years, without further question or doubt. This is the ultimate test: not only for you, but for your mother and I as ell. This is testing how well I've taught you to survive on your own and under impossible odds, and your mother has taught you about using your head. Good luck. The train leaves tomorrow at 10:00am in town. Don't miss it,"

And with that, my father, the only man I had ever known, walked out of the room.

I spent the night in his study, never moving from that chair. Mother didn't interrupt me once; I'm sure she already knew what was going on. At about five in the morning, just as dawn's first rays of light came knocking at the window, it occurred to me that I hadn't opened the envelope Father left. Sitting up, I watched it like a kitten does a piece of string, for what seemed an hour or more. Finally I decided that I should probably know what I had with me before I left, so I reached over and grabbed it up in my clammy hands. I say clammy because I was extremely anxious to see what was in it.

My fumbling fingers finally got the weather worn, manila flap open, and I dumped the contents onto the table. There was a loud thunk as the largest object hit the mahogany, and I looked to find the culprit. On the table before me lay an odd assortment of items. The noise maker was a large silver cross, beaten and scarred, with the initials DM on the back and GOD written below it. Along with that I found what I took to be a fencing saber tip, stained with blood. The shard was about two inches long, and I was amazed how light it was. Still, I moved on. Searching through the items, I found a minute clown doll of a boy, wearing half a mask. His face was the expression of the saddest clown I had ever seen, so I quickly put it down and picked up the next. This item puzzled me the most, and I couldn't make heads or tail of it. It was a tiny Chinese tile, like you would find in a shrine, with the inscription for "Dragon" on it. Father had make it clear to Mother that I absolutely had to learn Chinese and Japanese when I was younger, so by this time I was well versed in these languages. The last object was my favorite, even though I couldn't tell what it went to. I have it still. It was a white shard of metal with the inscription "ZM" on it, and the Japanese sign for Peace under it. This item I held onto for a long time, turning it over and over physically as well as mentally while I thought about it. Although I didn't exactly know what it was, I felt a kinship with it, such as one does with a lucky penny. This was my lucky penny.

The other contents of the envelope were two hand written notes that I decided not to read, $100.00 in ten dollar bills, and a one way train ticket to some place called Cinq. Since I was obviously going, not so much spurred on by the hope of a public school but by my own curiosity, I made up my mind that the letters were for the train.

Glancing at my watch, I decided I should probably eat and get ready, since it was already eight o-clock. I know I had a ticket to go somewhere, but I didn't know where to begin. As I moved through the house, my senses told me that Mother and Father were not there, and hasn't been for quite some time. I ate my cereal in silence and made my way to my room. Then I realized that although I hadn't left, my mission, had already begun. Two of the hardest tasks I would have to complete had to be done before my foot left the welcome mat. First of all, what should I bring? Father had given me instructions. Only what I could carry, whatever clothes I wore, and that envelope.

As I scanned my bare room, consisting of only a bed, dresser, and desk, my mind drifted to my conversation with him. 'If you make it back alive...' he had said. Alive? Why did he need to add such a frightening word to that statement? Did he not have faith in my abilities? Soon I decided that my trip would succeed. I was determined to prove him wrong. He had always taught me to never give up, and I planned to practice what he preached.

Although my anger had risen, I kept a level head, and decided that, should something happen to me, I should have some pictures of Mother and Father with me, in case I got lonely. Searching through my drawers, I found a picture I had taken of my parents. They were sitting on a park bench together, holding hands, oblivious to the world around them. They hadn't even known I'd taken it, but I cherished it deeply. It was the one time I had actually seen Father show emotion towards her.

Opening a zip pocket on my khakis, I shoved it inside, along with the train ticket and money. Since I didn't have many personal possessions, I went into my father's study once more. Opening his top drawer with a paper clip (it was always locked), I pulled out the gun he kept there. Checking to make sure it was loaded, I placed it in a concealed holster on my leg. Boy, did that come in handy. But, not until later. I had known about that gun since I was allowed in my father's study, about the same time he started training me. My first task was to open the drawer that held it. The only catch was that he didn't have key for the complex lock that kept it safe. He gave me an hour. It was test to see if I was the right kind of person to be trained like he was. I opened the lock within five minutes. My training began. This time, opening the drawer was no different. But closing it caused me to cry for ten minutes.

Right before shutting it, I noticed a slip of paper in the place of the gun. Confused because Father never kept anything but his weapon and ammunition in that drawer, I picked it up and unfolded it. It was covered with a delicate handwriting I knew to be my mother's. This is how it read:

"Dear Sarah,

Your father and I have been preparing for this moment since he began training you when you were five. I hoped this day would never come. I fear for your life, but I have confidence in you. You were trained by the best there is. And yet, you've retained your humanity, which, when undergoing that type of training, is very hard to do. Your father is just now getting some of his back. You have helped him so much it's amazing. He learns from you as much as you learn from him, and I thank you for it. Thank you, my daughter. You've done something I've never been able to achieve in all my years with your father. Please, make it back home, with answers to your many, many questions, and help your father enjoy feelings again. You know that he is as proud of you as he possibly can be, and that no matter what, however he may act, he loves you. I love you. Remain our little girl forever, Sarah.

Good Luck Always,

Mother

Relena Darlian

I love you, honey

xoxo"

I then realized my position, and began to rethink my decision to go. I was leaving home to go find people I'd never met, and with only $100.00 and a train ticket. I had to find my Uncle, Zechs Merquise or Miliardo Peacecraft, who was presumably dead. My chances were not good. To add to that, I had never left the house before to go a long distance. I had been in the woods for survival training and such, but I hadn't ever left to go to town. We had our groceries and necessities delivered to the house. Mother went to town sometimes, but not often. She said she was sick of being around people. I always wondered why. 

'No,' I decided. I was not going to chicken out. I was going to find these people and my uncle, and accurately answer my question for Father.

Continuing with the first hardest task, I found a paper and pen and wrote a quick note to my parents. It simply said, "I love you. I'll be home soon," I left it on the dining room table, where I knew they would find it. Then I got my coat and stood in front of the door, thinking over everything I was bringing with me. Did I forget anything? 'No, no, I didn't,' I thought.

The second hardest task hit me, almost causing me to urn back. I had to leave. My parents were the only people I had eve known; I hadn't ever _seen_ other people. What did they look like? How did they act? Would they accept me? All of those questions and more drove through my head, causing the world around me to spin. Grasping the staircase banister, I steadied myself. 

I plopped down on the bottom marble stair and for the last time rethought my decision. "No!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "No! I'm not going to let this beat me!"

I wish I had been as confident as I sounded, which, in itself, was dripping with doubt. I decided that I wasn't going to dwell on it anymore; if I didn't think about it, then I wouldn't come up with objections. I took one last look about the house, then reached for the door handle, pulling the door open.

I took one step out, feeling the cushiness of the welcome mat through my tennis shoes. I stood on the step, inhaling the aromas of Spring. Budding apple trees, pollen circulating throughout the area, tress swaying in the slight breeze. I took another step. One step closer to coming home, yet one farther away from it. If I could make one more foot appear between the house and myself, I would make it, without doubt. I took another step. There was no turning back.


	3. “I am not a pacifist.”

Chapter 3

"I am not a pacifist." -Heero Yuy

The trip from the only place I had ever known and the train station was an uneventful as having a staring contest with my father. That is, until he won. Father was very enthusiastic about winning.

I sat on the bench facing the empty tracks, grasping my ticket in my shaking hands. Many thoughts ran through my head. The most dominant of which was, of course, 'Where the hell is Cinq?'

The train whistle sounded in the distance, causing me to jump about a foot from my seat. It was so loud. You must, remember, I had never heard one before, so it startled more than most.

I gave the teller my ticket and boarded, taking the seat he led me to. Father had no doubt gotten the best for me. I had my own car, and it was furnished accordingly for my favorite era in history: Renaissance. I took a seat at the window and watched the world pass by in a blur. I must have fallen asleep, because sooner than I expected, we were there. I felt a bit guilty for not using the luxuries that came along with that ticket, but those feelings were soon overcome as I stepped off the train.

I could see, off in the distance, some sort of castle. I walked along the run of the station, staring at it, and almost ran into a pole and two benches along the way. I saw a girl about my age walk quickly past me, and I grabbed her arm, stopping her. Don't ask why I did; I felt the instinct to.

"What?" she asked bitterly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just was wondering who that magnificent castle belongs to. It's amazing!"

"Oh, that place? You mean you don't know? What planet are you from?"

"Well, I've just never been here before, excuse me!" I responded, angry at her rudeness. I turned to walk off, but this time she stopped me.

"Wait a moment...who are you?" she inquired, sounding curious.

"Sarah Yuy," was my answer. 

"Yuy?" her eyebrows raised so high I thought them to jump off her head. "Are you, by any chance, related to Heero Yuy?"

"Yes, he's my father, why?"

"That palace belongs to my SOB of a father, Miliardo Peacecraft. Who, by chance, is your mother?"

By this time, although I had found my only cousin, I was boiling over. My mother had always told me that if I inherited anything from my father, it was his temper. Yes, I remember the only thing that kept me under control. Sunshine and daisies, sunshine and daisies...black daisies...sunburns. I laughed in spite of myself. I loved my sense of humor.

"My mother," I finally answered. "Is Relena Darlian,"

"No way! Auntie Relena got married to him? Come with me, I've got to see this!" she drug me off to a car nearby, starting it. I noticed a tiara around the rear view mirror, along with a diamond pendant. Then, for the first time, I realized how much she reminded me of the picture Mother had of my uncle.

"This is gonna be great!" she exclaimed, speeding up the steep slope to the palace.

"I'm sorry, but, who are you? I didn't catch your name...," I stated uneasily.

"Princess Priscilla Peacecraft, at your service...well, not really. You're supposed to serve me, actually. I'm the Princess, not you...," she answered pompously.

"Yeah...," I responded, temper reaching a low simmer. "Sunshine and daisies," I added under my breath.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing...," clenching and unclenching my hands, I stared out the window. The castle loomed up before me, but at the moment I was too concerned with restraining the sudden urge to wrap my fingers around her "delicate Princess throat."

~*~

The car stopped abruptly and she jumped out, skipping up the walkway. I got out as well, making my way up to the front. As I closed the car door, she shouted, "Oh, wait, can you grab my tiara? Well, actually, scratch that. I'll tell him that I lost it...I never liked that one anyway...," Her perpetuous exertion of over self confidence and never ending egotistical comments reminded me much of my father, even though he didn't speak as continuous as she. Not even knocking, she strode inside, throwing her coat upon a chair just past the parlor. The main problem with her coat throwing was that my uncle was sitting in the chair, and the jacket landed squarely on his honey blonde hair.

"Oh, yes, just the person I wanted to talk to...,"

"You wanted to talk to...me? What do you want...let me rephrase that. What did you break? How much money do you need? What did you crash into? Your choice...,"

"No, Father, I just wanted introduce you to my new friend, Sarah...," Uncle Miliardo stood up sharply, coming forward to greet me while tossing the windbreaker back at his daughter. He hadn't seen me yet, but as soon as he looked up, Priscilla finished her sentence. "Yuy...,"

The blood drained from his face, and I was positive his knees where about to buckle at any given moment. Glancing over at my cousin, the strong dislike I felt for her grew strong as I noticed a grin plastered on her face and her eyes lit up in watching her father's anguish.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my attention focused more on my mother's brother now.

He stared at me, looking over my features and furrowing his brow. "As in, Heero's sister's daughter, right?"

"No, well, as in, Heero Yuy's daughter, Sarah Peacecraft Yuy,"

"He didn't...," My uncle stated in denial, shaking his head furiously.

Princess Priscilla piped up from somewhere behind him. "Oh, but he did...,"

"I'm sorry, but what is this all...,"

"Your mother. Please tell me she's not named...," he paused, trying to regain himself before continuing. "Relena,"

At the moment, I really didn't want to admit that to being my mother's name, but I had no choice. "Well, um, how about this? Father always calls Mother 'dove,' and not...so...much...Relena...," I chuckled nervously.

Remember that blood that previously drained from his face a few moments earlier? It returned; with reinforcements. "Why that dirty, yellow, low-life, bastard, son of a bitch! He didn't even have the courage to tell me! How dare he lay a hand on my sister!"

The steady stream of insults pouring from my uncle's mouth was quite impressive really. After the comment which would have caused the impression that Father hit Mother to be driven into any spectator's mind, his tirade pretty much ran together. I think he was making up insults just so he could keep shouting to help vent his anger.

"When he told me that his reason for not killing me was because Relena would be sad, i hadn't actually thought he cared about her feelings. I convinced myself that he was just being the weakling I know that he really is! When were you born?"

His question caught me off guard because I thought he was still raging on about Father. The look following my silence was enough to instigate the blurting out of , "September 23, AC 197." and a rapid dropping of mouths.

"You were born that soon after Mariemaia? Wow he really got down to it..." he paused, and I figured he wasn't angry anymore. "Were they married first? Oh, if he just knocked her and up left...ooh I'll hunt that bastard down and pull his heart out through his foot!"

After witnessing this, I found the cause of my short temper not to be my father. Still, not wanting to make Uncle Miliardo only more angry, simply because I knew what I was capable of when I got a bit mad, I answered his question with a very determined, "Of course they were married!"

Priscilla rolled her eyes at this comment. "What would be the problem if they hadn't been, Father?" she asked in a sickly-sweet tone that convinced me of her spoiled temperament.

Shooting a murderous glance that caused his daughter to recoil in fear, Zechs, continued, bringing his voice down once again to an "inside voice."

"Is Relena still alive? Wait, let me take that back; is Heero still alive? I know Relena is, she's too strong to die at her age. Unless that ass finally followed through with his mission to kill her...and even then, she'd survive."

"Well, sir, yes, they are both alive and well, I hope..."

"You didn't run away did you?" he asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"No, Father sent me here on a mission. I have to..."

"You live with your father? Why not Relena? She's make a better mother than he would a father! Was the jury crazy when they gave him custody or what?" 

Now, I admit, when he asked if my parents were married when I was born, it did anger me a tiny bit. But now he was implying that they were divorced and that Father did love her and was a horrible parent to me! I couldn't keep my temper at bay for much longer. The dam broke after this one statement.

"Did Relena ever tell you why she married that jerk? Was it because of you?"

"Now you listen here! You have absolutely no right to be talking about my father in this way! He is a wonderful man and he loves Mother as much to where he'd die for her if the situation called for it! And they got married because they are in love, not because of some accident names Sarah! They are still together and I live with them both and we are ONE HAPPY FAMILY!" I screamed, pulling out my hidden firearm and cocking it. The sighted along the barrel, pointing it towards his head, and calmed myself, hands shaking. In a quivering voice I stated as monotone as possible, "So you can just take all of what you said about him back."

Taking a breath instead, the tall man stared down at me, his left eyebrow twitching. Silence enveloped the room. Priscilla just kept glancing back and forth between us, eyes wide in amazement at the battle of tempers. Realizing the situation, she muttered under her breath, "You can tell she's a Peacecraft." and turned to flounce up the stairs.

I watched Uncle Miliardo, never blinking, and witnessed a small grin tug at his cheeks, breaking open his mouth in a wide smile. A low note of laughter escaped his lips, then another, as he made his way over to a loveseat, sitting down and making a grab for a pipe.

My mouth dropped. There I was, his one and only niece, threatening his life, and he was cracking up and smoking a pipe as if nothing happened! I pressed for an explanation. "Well?"

"That's different then." he replied.

"What's different?" I demanded.

"That they were and are married still, he loves her, and you were planned. That means that either his humanity has returned, or she has a lot of guns. And judging by that thing," he pointed to my weapon. "I'd say it was the latter."

My arm dropped down to my thigh, and the gun almost escaped my grasp as I felt my side go limp. Before I knew it, my knees buckled and I was laying on the floor, Miliardo and some other woman standing over me. Then my world went black.


	4. "Destroy the enemy and there won't be a ...

Chapter 4

"Destroy the enemy and there won't be a problem." -Chang Wufei

I awoke to the sounds of water being squeezed out of a washcloth, and that washcloth being placed on my forehead. I didn't open my eyes; Father always used to have me practice getting to know my surroundings without using sight as a primary sense. My memory had left me, and I tried to focus on what had happened earlier. Soon the events came flooding back. The train trip, the prissy princess, my uncle, and that woman. 'Why had I blacked out?' I wondered. As I became more alert, voices floated to my ears.

"I hope she's okay. You should have told me that she is Heero and Miss Relena's daughter, Zechs. I wouldn't have done that!" the female voice exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't think you'd do anything in the first place. We do get visitors sometimes, dear." my uncle replied.

The woman answered with, "Well, sorry, but when I walk in the door coming home from grocery shopping, and there is someone in our home pointing a gun at you, my first natural instinct is to protect you! You're my husband, and death certainly isn't going to part us soon!"

I figured this woman to be my aunt, an decided now was a good time to open my eyes. "Ohh...what happened?" I moaned, reaching up to hold my throbbing head.

They stopped their bickering and stared at me. "She certainly has Heero's healing gene." my aunt commented, handing me a glass of water. "I'm terribly sorry about what happened, I just acted on my emotion...I should have thought about it first." 

There was that "acting on your emotions" idea again. Unconsciously, I stated, "The only way to lead a good life is to act on your emotions." 

Miliardo stared at me. "Where did you head that?" he asked, face becoming serious.

"My father, why?"

"Nothing, it's just...nothing..."he turned to look out the window, unconsciously opening and closing the blinds before him.

The woman of whom now I had a good look of, was very pretty. She had purple black hair, and very beautiful violet eyes. She seemed to have an understanding air about her, and for some odd reason, almost militaristic. Her voice was a lovely, bell-like sound, and she seemed full of joy. She gazed over at my uncle, whose long, platinum blonde hair shone in the sunlight, and smiled. "He's real talkative..." she stated under her breath.

"I'm sorry, but we haven't been properly introduced. I'm guessing you know my parents as well?" I inquired after a short time. 

"Oh, yes, I know Heero and Miss Relena. Very well, in fact." she smiled at some brought up memory. "My name is Lucrezia Noin Peacecraft, and I believe I'm your aunt."

Noin...somehow that name seemed very familiar to me. Then, my mind flashed back to Mother's history class...

"And the Lieutenant Noin left the Lake Victoria base to..."

I snapped back. 'Could she? Could she possibly be...?"

"Where you ever in the military, specifically, the Oz organization?" I asked pointedly. Uncle Miliardo whirled abruptly on my question, and stood facing me.

My aunt looked at her husband. "Yes, yes I was. What did your parents tell you?"

"Well, not much, but they did mention a Lieutenant Noin, and when I heard your name it reminded me of it. Are you...her?"

"Um, well, I was, yes. But now my life consists of peace and the idea of pacifism...well to some extent. Prissy shouldn't count, though. She provokes it..." she trailed off, glancing over at her husband who smirked royally. Fitting, since he was then a King.

I decided now was an appropriate time to introduce myself. And I did, at which Aunt Lucrezia laughed. I think, specifically, at my middle name, which, if you haven't noticed, happens to be my Uncle's last name as well. Gee, what a coincidence.

She suggested that we go down to the second parlor, the one with a view of the mountainside. Walking with my uncle she whispered something that sounded like, "I can still see Relena sitting at that desk, looking so old for 15, and dictating like a real Queen would..." she stopped when she noticed my prying eyes gazing their way, and smiled broadly. "Yes?"

"Oh, sorry, nothing. You just...are very beautiful, that's all." I complimented.

"Why thank you, and I bounce that comment back to you as well. You have a lot of your father in you, as well Miss Relena. But I think a bit more of Heero, which is a very nice feature. I always thought Mr. Yuy was a very handsome boy..."

"You thought my archenemy was cute?" my uncle asked indignantly. 

'Archenemy? Had I heard that right?' I wondered. 'Why would my father and uncle be archenemies?'

"Archenemy? Alright, wait, don't answer that." I interrupted his premeditated explanation. "Let me explain my situation first. My parents have home schooled me since the day I was old enough to talk. My father started training me when I was five..."

"Your father _trained_ you?" Aunt Lucrezia asked, mouth agape in astonishment. She looked to Miliardo, who didn't seem affected by this statement. 

"Well, what would expect? This _is_ Heero we're talking about..." he explained, then turned to me. "Keep going, Sarah."

"Anyway, so I have been very, well, let's say, sheltered. As an example, this is the first time I've left home to see other people, the first time I've ever conversed with people other than my parents. And then, I find out that my supposedly dead uncle is the famous Zechs Merquise, the Lightning Count. I did know you existed, but only as Miliardo Peacecraft, my dead uncle. And then there's this picture," I reached into my pocket, pulling it out. "of these guys and my father, and mysteriously unique mobile suits in the background. This is the only picture my father has of them, and he told me to find them. I don't have a clue as to who they even are, much less where to start. But he gave me a train ticket, telling me this was my start. And then he and my mother were gone, left to go off and do whatever it is they do alone. So I board this train, not knowing where the hell it's going, and pray that I make it home alive and with the answer to my one question. What the hell are Gundams?"

My uncle sat there for a moment, then broke out laughing uproariously, unable to contain himself. Aunt Lucrezia shot a scolding look his way, and he just shrugged and continued. She got up and made her way over towards me. 

"Excuse me." she stated while grabbing a pillow as I adjusted myself. She then turned and hurled it at him with deadly accuracy. Right before it was about to smack his face, he stopped laughing and caught it with one hand. It lowered slowly to reveal his serious expression, and my aunt smiled. "Still got it..." she whispered as he glared at her, seeming angry. Then I saw the twinkle in his eyes return and a small grin tug at the corners of his mouth, while he replied quietly, "But not as much as I do..." He stood up slowly, placed the pillow down, and raised an eyebrow menacingly. Then he tackled her and they rolled around in the front hall, tickling each other and kissing at every possible moment. I watched this spectacle for a minute or two, then decided that for me to get any answers I would have to be firm.

"Miliardo!"

The laughing and playing stopped, and my uncle looked up at me, considering something it seemed. he glanced up at his wife, who was sitting on his stomach and gave her a look I would give anything to see now. It was a mix between fear, confusion, joy, and a bit of the look of a rebel. 

After she got up, he stood, face calm, and turned to walk away. "Come with me." his raspy voice commanded. I looked to my aunt, who mouthed, "Go on!" and gestured towards his distance gaining figure.

I followed him for about five minutes, down farther and farther into the castle, until he stopped at a door. He had been silent the whole time we walked together, but now was different. He pulled a necklace from the folds of his shirt and took it off. Holding it up, he asked, "Have you ever seen something like this before?"

I had. On the chain was a long shard of white metal, almost iridescent, yet not. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the copy I had, reaching out to hand it to him.

"No, keep it. Did your father give it to you?"

"Yes, along with other things. What is it?"

"When Zechs Merquise was alive, he wore a mask to hide himself from the world. That was a part of it. Your father picked up the pieces when it broke, and kept that one for you. Zechs no longer needed it..."

"But I thought you were Zechs! You said he died and..." I interrupted, confused.

"Zechs Merquise is dead!" he shouted, pounding the wall with his fist. I saw the pain he took to say that, and it caused my lip to tremble uncontrollably. Closing his eyes, he leaned towards the door, silent apologizing for his outburst. Suddenly he turned to speak, asking, "Your father trained you, you said. Can I pick locks?"

'Could I pick locks?' I thought indignantly at his ignorance. But, after seeing how he acted earlier at my outburst, I responded quietly with, "Yes, I can, sir."

Nodding in approvement, he pointed at the door. "Open it." he ordered.

"Okay." I replied quickly, reaching into my pocket for a safety pin. He stopped me with the touch of his hand on my arm. Looking up with a scared thought in my head, I saw his face soften as our eyes met.

"Not with that. Use something else."

Immediately I knew he meant the shard I still held in my left hand. Reaching up, I pushed it into the lock and just barely jiggled it when I heard the click. This door was set. It didn't have a key literally. This one piece of a mask once worn by a famous soldier was the "key" that opened my mind to broader horizons. I pushed the door open with the anxiety of a fiver year old opening presents on Christmas morning. My curiosity overwhelmed me, as I was known for it. 'What could possibly be behind this door that has not been opened since before I was born?' ran through my head, tripping sensors and alarms, making me more alert than ever.

When I left home, I had decided I was prepared for anything the world had to offer me. That I could parry every thrust with and ease like none other. But I couldn't prepare for this. No one could prepare themselves for this. Not even Father himself.

What loomed up before me, what was hidden behind this heavy metal door, took my breath away. A mobile suit, unlike any I'd ever seen in the history books, stood nonchalantly in this gymnasium of a room, facing my uncle and I. My eyes widened at the overwhelming sight of it, its red and black armor glittering beautifully in the small amount of sunlight let in through the ceiling. It was also much larger than what the books said the normal mobile suits were supposed to be. 

I glanced at my uncle, who stood motionless facing it, with closed eyes and lips moving in a silent web of greetings to an old friend. He must have felt my gaze and prying eyes, for he opened his own to look at me and smile. Raising his hand towards the monstrosity, he introduced his "friend" to me.

"Welcome to Epyon."

Those three words still work their way into my everyday life, bringing themselves into existence once more, although I don't know if the own of such a name still haunts this world and reminds us of the war we went through. I say "we" and yet I mean "them," people like my parents and uncle.

"Was it...yours?" I stuttered out, walking around on the platform before it.

"Originally it was your father's, but I think the suit was built with me in mind. It was created by a very old friend of mine and given to Heero, who ended up switching with me for his own suit."

'His own suit?' I pondered. "I'm sorry, but could you repeat that? I thought I just heard you say that my father had a mobile suit..."

My uncle chuckled. "I did, and he did. I also had another one, but that was destroyed during the war. The third one is still in possession, but I'm not opening its door..." he trailed off, looking up at Epyon.

"Tallgeese?"

He turned back to me and smiled, nodding. "So, Heero did give you a little information after all. What else did he tell you?"

I looked at my feet, ashamed at my ignorance and answered quietly, "Not a lot."

"Why did he send you on this mission?"

For once, a question I knew the answer to. "To figure out what the Gundams were or are. He wouldn't even give me a hint, just a list of names and numbers, such as 'Duo Maxwell, number zero-two.' Are you going to explain it for me?" I asked, reaching over and taking his gloved hand. Confusion spilled over his features for a moment, but he tightened his grasp around my hand and ld me down a few flights of stairs to the bottom of Epyon.

"No, I'm not going to explain what the Gundam are, but I will tell you a part of a few special ones that will give help in your answer. If I told you flat out, first of all, Heero would be disappointed , and second, your mission would be easily completed. And you need to meet the others. 

My face fell. Just as stubborn as my father. How could I not have expected this? He was, after all, the notorious Lightning Count, and a Peacecraft.

"Alright?" I heard him ask.

"Yeah, okay."

He grinned and wrapped his arm around my waist, which I did not expect. Then he shot some kind of a line up the front of the mobile suit and it pulled us up to the cockpit, which he opened and jumped inside. Sitting on the arm of his chair, I watched as he turned on the monitors and screens surrounding us, and the suit itself. A low hum filled the area causing him to raise his voice a bit as he explained, "I'm going to teach you about the Zero system, something only three suits were actually made with. It's very dangerous, so be careful..."


	5. "I'll give you just one piece of advice....

Chapter 5

"I'll give you just one piece of advice...dying hurts like hell."

The brightly colored lights flashed before my eyes, almost blindingly so. Soon I was able to keep up with the pattern of flashes, and started to predict the next one, and the next. My uncle watched me, smiling softly, as he saw my eyes flick to each area on the screen before the light appeared.

"This, of course, is just the simulation. In a real battle, there would be less patternizing and more spontaneity, since your enemies would be able to think for themselves. Would you like to experience a version of a battle created by me? You would be able to respond as your father and I did when this system was enabled during a fight..." he explained, looking up at me.

I nodded. 'It couldn't be that dangerous.' I thought.

"Are you sure? You'll be in here by yourself..."

"I'm sure."

"Okay. Let me warn you, though. Whatever you see happen is not real. Don't let the system take complete control of your brain, for the results can be deadly. If you have any problems, hit this red switch on the side of the seat, and I'll stop the program. I think this will give you a good understanding of what a Gundam is. Ready?" he asked, opening the hatch and attaching a clip to his belt.

"Always." I responded, strapping myself in and grabbing the hand controls.

"Good luck." Miliardo said, jumping off and sliding down the side of the mobile suit. I hit the button for the hatch and gasped as it closed completely, shutting me in darkness. Alone.

Suddenly the machine turned on, and with it came light from the many computer screens surrounding me. Sighing, I anticipated the start of the Zero system anxiously.

The first yellow flash caught me off guard, but in my startled state I still managed to destroy it. A few more appeared, and I got the feeling my Uncle was testing me. Sending him a quick message in Morse code using bullet shots, I told him it was too easy and if he didn't speed up the pace I would fall asleep. In response to my note, about three hundred flashes appeared all around me, firing in my direction. I reacted to the best of my ability, thinking two mobile dolls ahead of where I was shooting. After I had about half destroyed, and odd sensation came over me, clearing my mind, but at the same time, clouding my judgment. The cockpit around me melted away into a bright yellow, disintegrating every little flash representing an enemy.

Then I saw Father. And Mother, standing together in a garden. And then, my uncle appeared, pushing them apart. Mother looked genuinely upset, crying out and reaching towards my father from my uncle, who eyes narrowed as he took out a gun. I appeared and ran in between Father and Uncle Miliardo just as my dad pulled the trigger, taking the bullet for my uncle. In my last moments I saw all three of them crowded around me, and my father crying while he held my hand. 

Blinking back to reality from the nightmare, I destroyed the mobile dolls closest to me and hurriedly pushed the red button. The hum disappeared, and I fell forward as the hatch opened, rolling off and hitting the cement ground. I was sweating all over, not able to focus any distinct thought. All I could remember is the tears of my father, drowning me as my mother screamed.

I'm sure Uncle Miliardo saw me, I think I heard his startled voice once or twice as he raced down the stairs to see if I was alright. My eyes half open, I looked up at his scared face, then closed them and lost consciousness.

~*~

I'm not sure exactly how long I was asleep, but when I woke up I was lying in the same bed they had me in before, and there was a tray with some fruit and a bagel next to me. Taking a bundle of grapes gratefully, I moaned as I felt sore all over, and knew it was from the fall. Flexing my muscles and popping my joints, I stood, but almost immediately grabbed my head, which screamed for aspirin. Thankfully, whoever had brought my food in here had also placed two pills of Ibuprofen and a glass of water on the breakfast tray, knowing I would have a splitting headache and major pain when I awoke. Downing the capsules and gulping down the water, I started towards the door when I heard a voice behind me, in the shadows.

"He likes you."

Frowning, I turned to face the unknown owner of the voice. Surprisingly it was Priscilla, my cousin. "What?"

"I said, he likes you. My father. You should have seen the way he was acting when he brought you back upstairs. He was in hysterics. Mom couldn't get him to calm down. Finally she was forced to sedate him. He's still sleeping it off, I think."

I considered, this, looking down at the carpet modestly. "How long have I been sleeping?"

She smirked. "How many times are you going to pass out, huh? You slept all night restlessly...it's about nine in the morning right now. What was all that stuff you kept saying while you were sleeping about your parents?"

I gasped. Talking in my sleep again? I knew I needed to fix that. 'About my parents?' I wondered. Then the horrible dreams I had all night flooded back to me, reminding me of all that took place yesterday and the scene I witnessed. "Nothing, it was nothing." I shook it off, putting my back to her as I shoved a piece of honeydew melon down my throat. "Is Aunt Lucrezia up yet?" I asked, hoping for all the world she wasn't. 

"Yes, she is, but she's out on her morning run. She won't be back until ten, at least. Why?"

"Priscilla, I need your help. I have to get away from this place, it's been causing me too many problems. No offense..."

"None taken."

"Good...but anyway, I have to get away from here, and if you parents know they won't let me go, I know it. Can you help me get ready?" I inquired, looking her straight in the eye and hoping she would cooperate. The pompous attitude she had earlier didn't show up at all that morning as she agreed, taking me down the stairs to the front entryway, where I wrote a quick note to my aunt and uncle, explaining I had to go and visit the other pilots. Leaving it on the table, I turned back to my cousin. 

"Thank you. You're not as bad as I thought." 

She smiled softly and looked down. "You either." We exchanged an awkward hug, and I grinned. "I'll write you a letter some day, alright? I don't suppose it'll be too hard to get the address for the Castle of the Cinq Kingdom, do you?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "Bye, Sarah. Have fun finding the others." 

I walked out the door of the mansion, heading down the curving driveway to the train station, where I would hopefully buy another ticket and find out where the next on my list lived. Stopping at the gate, I looked back, wishing a farewell to my uncle and aunt. Turning to the open road, I bumped into a tall figure standing behind me, whose arms rested on my shoulders.

"Where are you going?"


	6. "You stupid fool!" and "I don't want to ...

Chapter 6

"You stupid fool!" -Duo Maxwell

"I don't want to copy Heero but...you're going with me to hell!" -Duo Maxwell

Completely shocked, I looked up at the figure, whose face was shadowed as the sun rose behind him. Then I saw the tell-tale sign that identified him.

His long, platinum blonde hair.

Sighing, I calmed myself down, bringing my heart rate back to normal as Father taught me. "Uncle Miliardo? What are you doing out here? I thought you were sleeping off the sedative that..."

"I asked you a question."

Eyebrows knitting, I looked up at him, positive confusion was easily discerned in my features. Awaiting his answer, I now raised my eyebrows, eyes growing wide. "What?"

"I asked you a question, you know." he replied rather coldly.

Thinking back, I tried to remember what it was he inquired about, but in my flutter I had forgotten. Suddenly, I remembered, grinning. Then the corners of my mouth upturned as I really thought about his question. Looking down, I answered, "Away."

"Why?"

Once again I was speechless. How could I tell him that I was afraid? Heero Yuy's daughter, _afraid_. Afraid of what...well that was a different story. To tell the truth, I wasn't exactly sure what I was afraid of. Just afraid. Scared shitless, as my mother would say. At that comment a smile came to my lips, remembering the way she used to talk about certain subjects of life. She was so great. 

"Why?" my uncle reiterated, bending down to come face to face with me. "Is it me, Priscilla, your aunt, what?"

"No, it's not you, really...it's just...I'm just..." Overwhelming emotions caused me to fall onto his shoulder into his outstretched arms, crying quietly. "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing out here! Why...why?" I sobbed as he patted my back softly, making soothing sounds in my ear. I almost laughed as his hair tickled my throat, but I couldn't bring myself to. And I hadn't had a good cry in a long time, I knew I needed this. 

"Let's go back up to the house, alright?" I could only nod as my tears drained down my throat and nasal cavities, making a mess of my face. He handed me a light blue tissue from his pocket, smirking. He led me up to the house like a frightened child, arm around my shoulder as I snuggled close to him, breathing in his musky scent as I tried to regain control of my emotions. When we got up to the front walk, my aunt came running out of the huge French doors, eyes wild and a note clutched in her hand. 

"Oh thank the gods you found her! What's wrong dear? Why did you try leaving?"

Kissing his wife softly on the cheek, my uncle smiled and whispered, "She's just confused, that's all. I let her try out the...system yesterday and it...messed her up a little. She'll be fine." My aunts eyes grew the size of saucers as she heard this, then seemed on the urge of decking Miliardo.

"What the hell is wrong with you? It messed up Heero for a month, two at least, to where he wouldn't even look at a mobile suit, and you let his 15 year old daughter try it out? What is going through that thick head of yours now?" she yelled, furious at my uncle's "carelessness."

"Here, dear, go inside, wash up. Pris, take your cousin up to the second floor bathroom please, show her where everything is so she can wash her face and things, alright? Thanks honey."

As my cousin led me up the stairs, I could barely hear my aunt and uncle arguing about his decision yesterday. Only catching bits and pieces of the conversation, I wanted to go down and help my uncle out, knowing it wasn't his fault at all for the problems the system caused me. I heard my uncle's deep voice echo off the mahogany wainscoting, while my aunt's tinkling speech reprimanded him, cutting off his bellowing of defense for himself. How I wished to go down and defend him, but I knew I shouldn't get involved. It didn't involve her, yet in every aspect it did. 

"Alright, here it is. Feel free to use whatever you want, I don't mind."

"Oh, is this your bathroom?"

Priscilla smiled, patting my shoulder as she left. "Yeah, I'd think you would be more comfortable in this one than the one the maids clean twice a week. No one ever uses that other bathroom, it's...too sanitary. If there is such a thing..."

I laughed a bit at her, then realized exactly what she was saying by looking at the sink alone. Covered in combs, brushes, hair ties, and hair spray, I shook my head as I remembered my own at home. I had a basket in the tray under the left side of the sink with my one comb and hairbrush set, along with a hand-held mirror I used to look at the back of my hair, my hair ties were in a little baggy in the corner of the tray, and my toothbrush was sitting on the back of the faucet next to the toothpaste. Clearing a space on her crowded counter, I sat for a moment, wondering if her room was this bad. A hidden instinct told me it was worse. Chuckling, I jumped down and turned the water on, cupping my hands to catch the cool liquid. I splashed it on my face, enjoying the dripping noise it made as it fell and hit the sink. Then the sound of my aunt and uncle bickering even more floated its way up to me once again, and I felt regret. I knew I caused this. I had to clear it up.

Leaving the tiled room, I followed the same path I took to come up, and walked down the stairs quietly, finding them in the foyer. They didn't seem to notice me at first, at least not until I cleared my throat, causing them to acknowledge my presence.

They both turned, and I noticed tear streaks down my aunt's face and a red mark on my uncle's cheek. Eyes downcast, I began my plight. 

"Look, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you...and Aunt Lucrezia, it wasn't Uncle Miliardo's fault that the system did this to me, or that I even tried it in the first place. He warned me several times and asked if I was sure about doing it, and I still did. It was my fault. I just...I had to experience it, had to see what it was like. How else can I ever understand what a Gundam is without knowing about the most important part of the one my father piloted? I'm sorry...lo siento, gomen nasai, really. If I said it in all the languages I knew, it would take a few hours at least, but I will say it in the one we all understand. I'm sorry." Salty rivers formed once again on my cheeks, but not at my colliding thoughts and confused being, rather at my regret for even asking my father about that picture. That damned picture! I reached into my pocket, pulled it out and felt the worn edges. It hadn't really left my pocket since it was placed there, so I had slept with it and traveled with it, and even passed out with it there. I smirked at this thought, then looked up at my mother's brother and wife, lower lip trembling. 

My aunt looked from me to my uncle, then from my uncle to me, until finally her eyes grew heavy with tears and she ran forward, embracing me as we cried into each other's hair. Miliardo kept his stance at the door, raising one eyebrow, then the other as he watched our emotional outburst. 

As we finally left our locked state, we both sniffled and looked at him, who still was doing the eyebrow dance. Aunt Lucrezia and I laughed, while she turned to me and whispered, "Men never understand..." I nodded and we both walked up to him, wrapped our arms around his waist, and hugged him soundly until he was gasping for air. I saw my aunt whisper something in his ear and him grin, kissing her fully on the lips. 

Watching them made me realize something. This is how it's supposed to be, me knowing about my parent's lives and knowing my relatives. These were my aunt and uncle...I should be close to them. And Priscilla...she definitely had a rough exterior, but on the inside, once she got to know you...she was a great person to know. I smiled and looked at the couple I was embracing, knowing it was time to go. I needed to wait a bit though.

I announced this to them at dinner and received many shocked faces. 

Priscilla was first to recover. "You're leaving? Why? I thought...but..."

My aunt had pretty much the same reaction, only it took her longer to respond. "Sarah...I thought we worked this out..."

Uncle Miliardo was the only one who understood. "I have something for you before you go, alright? When do you plan on leaving?" Aunt Lucrezia looked about ready to throw the biscuit she was holding at him. "What? It's time she met the other pilots! We can't be selfish, keeping her here forever, can we? And she'll keep in touch, she's a good girl. Don't worry about her. She survived the Zero system, didn't she?"

Another death glare. 

"Okay so she went into emotional shock...she recovered! Look at her! She has to go."

I was waiting for my aunt to say "Omae o korosu" as she once again glared at her husband, who had the most innocent look on his face. But, to my surprise, her face instantly changed to that of agreement. "Make sure she has a lot of money and a car, Miliardo, or you're sleeping on the couch for a month. Dear, sorry you have to go so soon, but I understand now. Who are you wishing to see next? We can give you directions and the quickest way of getting there, we know where everyone is living!"

"Thanks, Aunt Lucrezia. You're the greatest. I plan on leaving tomorrow morning, so I can get a good night's rest and an early start."

"Sounds like a good plan. Off to bed for you! I'll wake you at five!"

It was my turn to use the patented "Omae o korosu" look on my uncle, who beamed as he asked Priscilla to pass the salt.

I love my family.

Author note: Sorry had to use two quotes for this one, they both fit so well!


	7. "I wouldn't mind if you want to kill me,...

Chapter 7

"I wouldn't mind if you want to kill me, but I might retaliate." -Trowa Barton

I thought my uncle was kidding when he said he would wake me up at five. My mistake. Five o-clock, bright and early, before the sun rose, he came barging into the room I was in, threw open the curtains and pulled my covers off me, tossing them to the floor. 

"RISE AND SHINE SARAH!!!"

After beating him soundly with a pillow, I got dressed in the clothing they provided me and made my way downstairs for breakfast. Going into the kitchen, I searched the cupboards until I found a bagel and some cream cheese, toasting the dough and spreading the cream. Heading into the dining room I took a seat next to my aunt, who was reading the paper and sipping on a cup of coffee. 

"Do you always get up this early?"

Aunt Lucrezia smiled. "Of course, dear. I guess the soldier in us never left... we are still used to getting up at all hours of the morning. Going with him on trips is hell, he makes up get up at 3:30 in the morning so we 'avoid the traffic.' Did you think he was kidding when he said he would wake you up at five?"

I could only bring myself to nod as I took a bite of my bagel, then a drink of the orange juice a servant brought me. Uncle Miliardo, recovered from his pillow thrashing, came striding in purposefully, a huge grin plastered across his cheeks. "Alright, let's go choose your car!"

My morning brightened a bit after that. I got a really nice car, a BMW Beamer, I think he called it, and a lot of money. Not that that mattered, but I knew it would make the trip easier. The hardest part was choosing who to go visit next. Looking at the picture, I decided on Chang Wufei, the Chinese pilot. When I told my uncle this, he smirked and looked away, remembering some distant memory. 

"What?"

Grinning, he shook his head, "Oh, nothing..." then proceeded to tell me the directions to the house of Chang. 

I pushed the key into the slot and turned it, hearing the engine roar until quieting to a soft rumble as the motor turned. I waved to my uncle and aunt, who were standing in the doorway, and started to back out, until I caught a glance of my cousin, who sleepily made her way between her parents, wrapped in a blanket and rubbing her eyes. I stopped the car and got out, walking slowly up to her.

"Priscilla?"

"Unh...?"

I smiled. She probably wouldn't even remember this. "I'll miss you. Make sure to call me once in a while so I can check up on you, okay?" I requested, slipping a small piece of paper in her hand with my phone number. She gazed between half lidded eyes down at her hand, and smiled, hugging me. 

"Bye Yuy."

I grinned at her use of my last name instead of my first. Kissing my aunt's cheek and embracing my uncle, I turned and walked back to my new car, gazing back at them. Already Priscilla was asleep, leaning against my uncle's shoulder and snoring loudly. She was definitely a princess.

Leaving was emotional for all of us, but I soon made myself back all the way down the drive, and turned, heading towards the city. I drove through the empty streets, past the street lights as they turned off and people started waking up, opening their stores or going to work. I smiled. So this is what it's like in the real world, I thought. Turning the last corner, I drove up to the highway ramp, knowing it would be a while and this was the fastest route. 

I don't know exactly how long I drove, but it seemed endless. I ended up finding a radio station and listening to classical, something I have always enjoyed. When I saw the sign for my exit, I was drowning in a Waltz composed by Rachmaninoff, one of my favorites. Turning off, I watched the setting sun happily, knowing my long day on the road would be paid off as soon as I made it to the Chinese man's house. Looking once more at the address and arriving at a small, quaint cottage, I readied myself to go in. 

Striding purposefully up to the door, I hesitated, then knocked rather loudly, hearing it echo throughout the house. I was definitely not expecting the greeting I got.

A Chinese man, Chang Wufei, I assumed, answered the door and promptly hugged me, kissing my cheek. Then, noticing the fact that he did not know me, slammed the door in my face with a disgusted look. Frowning and more than just slightly confused, I knocked again and stepped back, waiting for him to answer. Slowly the door opened, and I saw him peer out, hunched over a bit with eyes narrowed, looking over my every feature. 

"Who are you?"

"I am..."

"Shut-up stupid onna, did I say you could talk?"

"What did you call me--?"

I was silenced by his deathly glare, which automatically reminded me of my father. I giggled at the sight and thought as my father as a hunched over Chinese man, causing Mr. Chang to scowl menacingly. Then, to my surprise, I heard a female voice come from inside, and saw a lady come walking up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Wufei, butterduck, don't lean over like that, it's not good for your back!"

The 'omae o korosu' look again. Gosh, everyone seemed to have the glare down! I thought it was just a thing my father did. 

Then the woman looked up, noticing me. I smiled her way and hoped she was a bit more friendly than her husband, and thrust out my hand to introduce myself.

"I am Sarah Yuy, daughter of Heero and Relena Yuy. My father..."

"Sarah? Yuy you said? Relena and Heero?" she asked, eyes getting wider with each statement as I nodded my approval. Thank the gods she smiled, otherwise I probably would have left. Ushering me inside and keeping her bitter husband at bay, she sat me down in the parlor, asking if I wanted anything to drink. I was rather thirsty from my long drive and agreed, asking for some tea, if she had any. Returning with the wanted liquid, she sat on the love seat across the room and stared at me, eyebrow raised. "I am Sally Po, and this rude man over here is my husband, Chang Wufei. Well, Wuffy..." I saw him grimace at her pet name for him, looking away defiantly. "Well, Sarah, why are you here?"

The bluntness of her question caught me off guard, but I answered with courage and self-confidence. "I am here to figure out what the Gundams are/were. My father has sent me on a mission to..."

And with that, I started to tell my story. Finishing about half an hour later, I looked over at her, who had sat enthralled the whole time, never seeming to blink as she watched me unfold my tale. Surprisingly, she had no questions. But, she did have an offer. 

"Why don't you stay the night and rest up, it seems like you had a busy day. We will help you as much as possible in the morning, alright?"

I nodded, and thanked her for her hospitality. Turning to Mr. Chang, or Wuffy, as she called him, I bowed my head in respect for his authority, closing my eyes briefly. He snorted his response, only to receive a light smack on the shoulder from his wife, who narrowed her eyes at him. "G'night Sarah." he added, stalking off to his own bed.

I sighed as I watched him go, then looked to Sally. "I'll show you where your room is, Sarah."

After a restless night's sleep, I woke up bright and early, walking into the kitchen to join Mr. Chang in breakfast. He threw a glance my way when I walked in, scoffed, and continued drinking his coffee. Sitting down beside him, I stared at him until he finally lowered the paper in front of his face and annoyingly asked, "What?"

"Why are you so mean?"

I saw fear and confusion race across his eyes, which were hidden quickly as he looked out the window. "Why do you ask so many questions?"

"Why do you insist on trying to be 'Mr. Tough Guy?'"

"Why did you invade my house last night?"

"Why did you kiss and hug me?"

"Don't remind me."

I could see our continuing argument in asking questions was going nowhere, and tried to think of a better way to talk to him. He was much like my father, I soon found out, very pompous and full of himself. 'Wait...' I thought to myself. 'If he's so much like my father...'

"Do you play chess?"

Finally he looked me straight in the eye. And it scared the crap out of me. His onyx orbs burned into mine, seeming to see right into my soul, searching for something. I wanted to break the dead stare, but I couldn't back down. Not now, while I finally had his attention. "Do you?" I asked arrogantly, imitating my father.

Still staring at me, he nodded. It seemed to take forever for him to decide whether he did or not, but nevertheless, he admitted to it. "Yes, once in a while. But that stupid onna wife of mine doesn't know how, and I have no patience to teach her. Did Heero teach you?"

"Maybe. Wanna see?" I answered coyly, raising my left eyebrow and keeping my face straight.

His eyes narrowed at the challenge, and I knew he would accept. Turning down a challenge would be like trying to make him wear a frilly pink tutu. He just wouldn't do it. Nodding again, he rose, grabbed his coffee mug, and walked out of the room. I assumed he wanted me to follow, so I did. I had to hold back a laugh as his tiny waist swayed back and forth, causing his white pants to billow slightly, making his legs seem huge.. He lead me into a small room in the back of the house where a single table was set up. A chess board adorned the top, with a waiting game already arranged. It was as if he predicted my arrival. Sitting down on one end of the board, he motioned for me to take my spot at the white pieces. What an advantage. I always won with the white pieces. So Father never let me use them when we played. He would be white, and I would be black, and it would always end in a draw.

"Did you ever play my father at chess?"

Mr. Chang nodded. 

"Did you beat him?"

He nodded again. 'God dammit, why can't you just say yes for once?' I wondered, narrowing my eyes at his silence. "Oh."

"Do you wish to start the game?"

I grinned. Of course I did! But I had to set some rules first, or I would never get any information out of him. "Yes, sir, but I also have a proposition. Each time I take one of your pieces, you have to answer one question of my choice. If you take one of my pieces...what is it that you want?"

He looked up at me, seeming completely bored, but I saw the excitement in his eyes at a real challenge. "I want silence. If I take one of your pieces, you must be quiet until you take another of mine. That is all I ask. What happens when one of us wins?"

"Well...if I win, you tell me all I want to know about the Gundams. If you win, I'll leave here first thing tomorrow and never return. Deal?"

"Deal."

I looked at the pieces and saw the wonderful detail carved into each one of them. Examining them the best I could without picking them up, I wondered if he had done the carving himself. 'Probably.' I told myself. Picking up a pawn, I started to place it on the board, looking him straight in the eyes the whole time.

He stared right back, and started to choose his piece. 

"Check."


	8. "I lost...to someone stronger than me......

Chapter 8

"I lost...to someone stronger than me..." -Chang Wufei

I laughed. What else could I do? The first move he makes he puts me in check. I could see why he was a Gundam Pilot--easily. Now I had to show him that I was Heero and Relena Yuy's daughter...

The reason I was already so arrogant about my parents without even knowing the real reasons I should be was because they seemed so...amazing to me. My parents were my best friends, offering guidance and support, but also the respect peers have for each other. They never treated me less than their equal, which is why I was so extremely close with them. And the fact that they were the only people I'd ever known my whole life had nothing to do with it, I'm sure...

Mr. Chang stared at me. Narrowing his eyes at my amusement, he bitterly asked, "What is so funny, onna? Did you realize that you are going to lose?"

I grinned at him, never breaking out stare, and took the piece threatening my King. "No, I was laughing at the fact you left yourself so open for an attack, that's all. My turn for a question: Did you pilot a Gundam?" I asked, equally as bitter, sarcasm dripping off every word.

He snorted at my arrogance and looked at the table, contemplating my move. "Yes." Picking up his bishop, he placed it on my side of the board, once again endangering my Kind.

I shook my head at his ego, knowing it to be his downfall. Preparing to take his piece, I inquired, "Why do you keep giving up such valuable pieces? You won't take my King that easily, you know..."

He glared at me over the tops of his glasses, onyx eyes sparkling. "I believe that offense is the best defense." Smirking, he watched my hand hover over the nearest pawn. "Go ahead, take it...and blow your chances at winning."

Frowning, I stopped my previous action to look around at the board and where his pieces where positioned. If I took his bishop...that left my Queen completely open for attack. "You think I need my Queen to win? that I must rely on a...female to help me win? How unlike you, Sempai." I decided to risk it. If I beat him without my Queen, that would just show how good I really was. Taking his bishop, I gingerly placed it next to the board, yawning. "I think for my next question I would like to know--"

"You can't ask a question right now. You haven't taken another piece yet, Sarah-san. You should really pay more attention to the game and your own rules, onna..."

My eyes widened. "What do you mean? I just took your bishop!" I exclaimed indignantly, gesturing toward the row I was forming of black pieces.

He scoffed. "And did you not ask me a question right before you were taking it? I believe that counts, Sarah-san." I'm sure by then my eyes looked as if to catch fire at any moment by the way I was glaring at him. I felt my neck get hot as my temper flared, but quickly subdued as I forced myself to focus. He was trying to anger me so I couldn't think straight and make a mistake, I figured out. Chuckling, I nodded, much to his surprise.

"You're right, Sempai. I should have thought of that. Please, continue with your move." I stated politely, smiling sweetly the whole time. All he did was stare at me, trying to blink away his disbelief as his pale hand hovered above one of his pieces, waiting for his brain to decide.

We continued this game of cat and mouse far into the day, and soon I heard Sally approach with our lunch.

"You two are still playing? How long is this going to take?" I shrugged, and my opponent smirked, taking his tray. "Would you like some tea, Sarah?"

I nodded, unable to verbally respond as Wufei had me silent until I took another of his pieces, which were becoming scarce, as well as my own. Quickly counting both our lines of figurines, I saw we were even, both with the same amount of pieces captured. Although, to an outsider, it would seem that I was winning. All that Wufei had left was his Queen, a rook, two pawns, and, of course, his King. I, on the other hand, still had both my bishops, a rook, a knight, and my King. I didn't have my Queen any longer. He had taken her a while back, grinning the whole time. Then, I promptly took his two knights and one of his rooks, getting many more answers. Not to say that he didn't enjoy his moments of silence...those were abundant, and normally close together chronologically.

So far, I had figured out that he had piloted two different Gundams, one the Shen-Long, the other, Altron. Both had been nicknamed Nataku. I also found out that he had been the one who had killed Treize Khushrenada, the former leader of Oz. After getting that answer, he had kept me silent for five turns, taking my remaining pawns.

As I saw us nearing the end, I thought furiously. where had I seen this setup before? Black: a King, Queen, Rook, two Pawns; White: a King, Rook, Knight, both Bishops...

Then it dawned on me. This was exactly the arrangement of the game I had first won against Father! One dilemma arose...How did I win? For the life of me, I couldn't remember how I had beaten my father...

Wufei stared at me, raising and eyebrow while he took a bite of rice. I stared back, not about to be beaten, and sat still, trying to remember. "Well?" he asked, impatiently. "It _is_ your turn, Sarah-san..." I glared at him, mouth upturned in a frown that said, 'I know, shut-up!' and brought my hand over a rook, thinking furiously. 'Wait...' I thought, eyebrows furrowing. 'Is it...?'

Moving the rook, I analyzed the move I had made and beamed, knowing it was the right one. 'I'll show you, Chang Wufei! Watch that smirk leave your face as I kick your a--'

"Checkmate."

"Nani?! How? Show me!" I demanded, jumping up. Looking at the board again, I saw it clearly, and how I had left my King unguarded by moving my rook. Dejectedly slumping back into my chair, I started setting up the board again, taking tiny sips of tea in between each placement. Looking up, I sighed. "I'll leave first thing tomorrow, Sempai. Thank you for a good game, and many learned lessons. Sayonara..." 

I turned to leave, only to be stopped by the man's rough, "Matte, Sarah-san...are you going to give up that easily? Is that what Heero taught you? He must be getting soft in his old age..." The taunt echoed in my ears, challenging me. Urging me to go back and accept. How could I refuse? Father always told me to never turn down challenges, especially when my honor was being threatened. Facing the man, I asked quietly, "What is it you want me to do, Chang-san?"

He smirked, looking at me over the tops of his glasses again. "Heero taught you to fence?" I nodded. I loved the sport, and was confident in it. Yet, I had been confident in chess, too, and I was overcome easily. "What about Shanai fighting? Kendo sticks?" I nodded again. My favorite. "Meet me in the living room in an hour." With that, he left, barely glancing at me as he passed by, heading for the door. Pausing, he added, "Wear as much padding as you think you need. I'm warning you though...I don't hit lightly."

Raising an eyebrow, I headed for the room they were letting me stay in, ego bubbling up to the surface as I remembered the last time I fought Shanai.

"Good, now increase your speed, that's it, come in for the attack..." my father coached, encouraging me while blocking my every thrust easily. Deciding to try something new, I stepped aside as he attacked and flipped over him, turning swiftly to bring the edge of my bamboo sword to his side, just under his arm. I stopped, resting it there, and waited for my father's next move. It seemed to take forever, but finally he relaxed, bringing his stick down to point at the ground. Seconds later, I was lying flat on my back, a numbing pain in my side and the wind knocked out of me, while me father pointed the tip of the Kendo at my throat. "Never drop your guard. Even after you have won. You'd be surprised how many people have the knack for coming back from the dead. Now get, lesson's over. go inside, have some food and get to class with your mother. Good practice."

I remember getting up and going inside, but pausing at the window to watch my father pick up my dropped sword, wincing. He grabbed his side where I had hit him and lifted up the bottom of his tank, and analyzing the tender spot. I gasped as he revealed a very large bruise along his rib cage, and a small area where my attack had broken the skin, causing blood to trickle down his side. He dropped the bottom hem of his shirt and continued as if nothing had happened, all the while shaking his head and muttering about how good I was becoming.

Smiling to myself, I grabbed a tank top and long, cotton pants, knowing I needed to be free of constricting material. Remembering the Chinese man's warning, I smirked and said aloud, "It doesn't matter if you hit hard if you never catch me!"

I glanced at my clock. I still had about forty-five minutes until I had to meet for him another challenge. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I pondered over why he was giving me a change to redeem myself. He had won, and I was supposed to leave tomorrow, according to our agreement, yet he challenged me a different game, giving me the chance to beat him. Did he...want me to know about his interpretation of the Gundam? Did he actually want to...help me? Well, why didn't he just come out and say it?

Then it dawned on me. His pride. My pride. He couldn't just say, "Sarah, let me help you..." for knowledge of the fact that I wouldn't as readily accept it.

He was testing me, also. He was seeing if I was worthy enough to be Heero and Relena's daughter...

I had to prove it to him.

But first...I needed to stretch. Sitting on the floor, I spread out my legs and began my flexibility exercises, literally folding myself in half as I prepared. Finishing thirty minutes later, I plopped down on my bed and took a quick rest, knowing I needed it. I needed to be fully aware of what was going on so I wouldn't, first of all, get hurt severely due to lack of sleep, and secondly, be able to beat him. I didn't know how many times he was going to challenge me until I beat him, so I had to take every chance I got and give my best.

And he was going to get my best. And more.

Resting for the remaining fifteen minutes in the hour he gave me, I regained all of my strength and stamina lost during the endless chess game, and woke up, fully refreshed and sure of myself. Stretching one last time, I walked out of my room and down the hallway, coming to the stairs. I was confident, no doubt, but not overly so, as I had found that to be my demise in the last challenge. I couldn't let my pride and ego take over while I battled Wufei, in any way. If I didn't win, I would just ask where I could find the next pilot and leave, no further questions. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't just leave without knowing what he thought of the Gundams and how they had affected his life. I would never forgive myself.

"Ah, you are here. And right on time." he snorted, looking away. "I have a mat ready."

A mat? "Uh, Sempai?"

He raised an eyebrow, and again glared at me over the tops of his glasses, looking down his nose. "Nani?"

"A mat? Why not outside?" I had never fought on a mat before, and I knew I certainly wouldn't be comfortable fighting on one. I couldn't let him have the upper hand in any way, even this simple question of where we were going to fight.

"You don't want to fight on a mat? Fine, we'll have it your way. Outside it is. This way." he stalked off, heading through twisting hallways as I kept up, walking at brisk pace, until we arrived at door. Opening it, he looked back at me for a moment, then stepped outside into the cool afternoon air. I gasped as I looked at where he intended for us to fight, awed by the beauty of the place we were in. It was somewhere in the forest behind his house, completely hidden from the world. There was a little pond in the corner of the clearing, along with a small bench Sally had installed, I guessed. The trees provided complete shade, but there were little lamps periodically hanging from the branches, giving the whole area an eerie glow. He walked around the circle, watching me with every step he took. "Is this alright, Sarah-san?" I nodded, still amazed by the splendor of the clearing. "Good." Walking over to the bench, he hit a switch on the arm of it, and a little platform raised out of the ground, holding two brand new looking Kendo sticks. Grabbing one, he swung it around, rotating his wrist, while he tossed the other to me. I caught it, and noted the lightness of it, and the way it was balanced. I took a ready stance, holding the katana practice blade above my head, waiting for him to attack. He stood there, watching me with a smirk on his face, while he kept his blade at his side, seeming to not be my competitor, but a bystander. 

"Well, are you going to attack?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Nani? Why?"

"Ladies first."

I narrowed my eyes at the Chinese man, knowing full well that he wanted to pick me off as easily as he had during the Chess game. It wouldn't be so easy this time. I advanced forward, still keeping a defensive stance, and swung my shanai downward at an angle, towards his side. I knew he would block it, so as soon as the bamboo hit I flipped backward, waiting for his charge. Again, he stood stationary, not moving and seeming to not pay attention to me. "Come on, are you scared?" I had to taunt him, to urge him forward to attack me. Thankfully my plan worked, and he charged, at which I sidestepped, bringing my sword around to get his back. At the last second he turned, blocking me and bringing the edge of his shanai towards my legs, at which I jumped. Rolling to the ground, I rocked onto my back, then jumped up, using the momentum of my legs to bring my whole body up into an attack stance. The bamboo strikes echoed off the surrounding trees, and we continued, matching every thrust with a parry equally as harsh. At one point he rolled and stood up behind me, and I wasn't fast enough, catching the flat of his blade on my arm. I winced as my arm went numb, and switched to my left hand.

"You should have been faster." he said bitterly, seeming upset that he had gotten me.

"I wasn't."

He glared at me, then pulled away and stood stock-still, shanai behind him. "Attack."

I shook my head, knowing this trick all too well. He would wait until I got a fraction of a second from attacking him, then would pick me off. Father had taught me to know these traps very well, and I learned to quickly as he seemed to enjoy doing them. "No. You attack."

Wufei nodded, smiling. "Good girl." Flipping over me, he swung high, hoping to catch me in the head, but knowing well that he wouldn't. I rolled thankfully, just in the nick of time, and missed his hit; otherwise I would have had a concussion and very large bruise, if not worse. I continued to defend, but it got boring as I knew he wasn't trying as much as he should be; so I changed my tactics. Charging at him, I attacked quickly, swinging the bamboo around and increasing my speed, getting him into a rhythm of hits. One, two, three, down, one, two, three, down...and so it continued until I drove him almost to the end of the clearing. Using a trick I learned from Father, I stepped aside as he was about to attack down, and turned a complete three-sixty, catching him in the side. The shanai hit with a resonant thwack right in his ribs, causing him to gasp. I pulled away, watching him warily as I remembered the lesson my father had taught me about dropping my guard, and my eyes widened as I saw him drop his weapon, panting as he tried to catch his breath. Walking towards him slowly, I made my way around to face him square on, eyebrows furrowing as I saw his face contort in pain. 

"Sempai? Are you...okay?" I asked, leaning in closer and placing a hand on his shoulder. 

He looked up, eyes dark in torture, and whispered, "No..." while collapsing in my arms, much to my surprise. Afraid I had hurt him badly, I supported his weight as best I could as I called down the stairs to his wife. "Sally?!? Help us! Mrs. Chang!!! Sempai is hurt!"


	9. "Don't you just admire my ability?"

Chapter 9

"Don't you just admire my ability?" -Duo Maxwell

"Here, hand me that ice pack..." Sally instructed, reaching towards it while holding a hand to her husband's side. He groaned a bit, but remained unconscious, as she placed the ice on his broken ribs, trying to reduce the swelling of the hit he had received. I felt terrible. I had hurt him badly, all because I just wanted to find out about those damned Gundams! They had caused way too many problems for me...I started to wonder whether or not I should continue my search for the remaining pilots. Screw public school, I didn't belong in the outer world. I caused too much pain. Too much suffering.

"Do you think he's going to be alright?" I asked, eyes filling with tears as I stared down at the Chinese man, biting my lip. 'Please be alright, please be alright, please...'

"Unh...Sally? Where's Sarah-san?" You can't understand how happy I was to hear those words. He grabbed his head, squinting, and stared up at us, mouth upturning when he saw me. Trying to sit up, he grimaced, reaching for his side and two broken ribs, only to be pushed back down by his wife. 

"Stay there, you have broken ribs and are in no condition to be moving anytime soon." she commanded, eyes narrowing when he scowled at her. "Stay. Sarah, watch him, please. I have to go make a run to the store for some more ice packs and the right stuff to fix him up. He doesn't move from this spot, okay? Bye." She started to leave, then turned back, adding, "And if he gives you any trouble, don't hesitate to whack him one. Sometimes it's the only way to knock some sense in his head."

Wufei watched his wife leave, muttering what sounded like, "Injustice..." every once in a while, then sat up against the wall, looking me over. 

"Wait, she said..."

"I'm fine. I've had much worse."

I sat down, defeated. I already knew this man to be stubborn, and him not even listening to his wife about his own health confirmed my suspicions. Sighing, I looked at him, shirtless, and started to apologize. "Sempai, I'm really sorry about..."

"Don't. I am proud of you. You beat me. You deserved to." He looked up at me, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face. "Now...what was it you wanted to know?" A million questions swarmed my mind, but knowing that I had to meet the other pilots, I decided to focus on what the Gundams meant to each individual person affected by them, not just what they were. I knew Father wanted me to know that, not what they were, but he wanted me to figure it out on my own. 

"What did the Gundams mean to you?"

He sighed, that classic smirk of his running across his features. "What did they mean to me? They meant a way to achieve peace and justice. At least, they were supposed to mean that. All they ever seemed to bring was death and pain, though. They were built to protect, yet they only knew to destroy. My Gundam was my best friend, the only thing close to a human I could stand to be around for more than twenty minutes at a time. Nataku, named for the Chinese hero with the utmost idea of honor and justice, was my tool for showing the world justice. It was there for me when others wouldn't be, and it helped me get through the world we were living in at the time...continuous wars between dishonorable and heartless people. When Quatre called for all them to be destroyed...I couldn't bring myself to do it. Nataku was my best friend. I couldn't destroy it. Most people failed to see that, to see the camaraderie between the pilots and their Gundams. I think they thought they were just there for us to kill. I don't believe the world was ready for the Gundams...and I don't think the Gundams were ready for the world."

I continued to ask him questions, most of them vague as I had what I wanted, until Sally returned from the store. I sat back as she reprimanded him for sitting upright, and proceeded in bandaging and fixing his broken ribs the best she could, then demanding that he rest. My mind couldn't leave the last thing he had said about the Gundams...'I don't believe the world was ready for the Gundams...and I don't think the Gundams were ready for the world.' That statement seemed so true it sickened me, without even having talked to the other pilots. I saw now why Father had kept me away from this for all my life, and why Mother had made the absolute effort to keep this topic from my studies, as it was too deep and intense for a normal person to understand. And, being the daughter of Heero Yuy, I was definitely not a normal person. 

The next morning I left with the directions to the next pilot's house, Duo Maxwell. Sally saw me off with a hearty hug and kiss on the cheek, and Wufei stood in the background, leaning up against the doorjamb to his room, onyx eyes boring into my soul, and wishing me good luck. I nodded acknowledgement to him, and, to my surprise, received a smile. Mouthing, 'Thank you.' to him, I left, heading to my car.

At about noon, I stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Rooting through my bag, I searched for the money I had received from my uncle, and found a small, marble Chess piece, intricately designed. Examining the pawn, I found an inscription on the bottom, all in classic Chinese, and knew it to be from Wufei.

_You are only a pawn in life, but if you make it through the hardships and suffering of living, you can become Queen._

I sat in the car thinking about this statement for a long time, until the rumbling of my stomach brought me back to reality. Grabbing a few ten dollar bills, I got out of my car and headed towards the restaurant, shaking my head and smiling inwardly at Wufei's insight as I shoved the piece in my pocket for safekeeping.

Entering, I looked up at the receptionist. "Only one?" she asked, looking behind me.

I smiled. "Yes, only one."


	10. "Stop making me repeat myself! It's bad ...

Chapter 10

"Stop making me repeat myself! It's bad for my health!" -Duo Maxwell

I reached the address of Duo Maxwell's house sooner than I had expected. Sally had given excellent instructions, and I found that his house was not as far as I had first thought.

Grabbing my coat, I took one last glance at Duo's picture and inhaled deeply. Boy, was he handsome. I couldn't wait to meet him. I made my way up to the door and looked myself over one last time, smoothing my hair. I was wearing my favorite outfit: black Capri pants and a skin tight, dark green tank top. I also had my father's old coat, the black one with the red ribbing.

Knocking, I exhaled loudly and listened for signs of approach. A very light, quick step advanced, and I leaned back as the mahogany door opened. Just inside was a boy I took to be Duo, but he looked even better in person. His long braid dance in the slight breeze, and he adopted an adorable look of confusion while noticing me, eyebrows meeting and wrinkling. I reached out my hand, heart thumping so loudly I was sure he could hear it, and started to introduce myself, making sure I was at the right house.

"Mr. Maxwell?" I asked, smiling as my cheeks flushed and my neck grew hot.

"Yes, that's me. I'm sorry, but, do I know you?" His voice, full of laughter and mischief, rang in my ears, and I took a moment to calm myself.

"No, I'm sorry, you don't know me specifically, but I believe you know my father. My name is Sarah Yuy and..."

"Hold on a sec..." he interrupted. Turning, he shouted down the hallway leading past the foyer, "Dad! There's someone here to see you!"

"You're not Duo." I stated plainly. Amazed as I was a his resemblance to the photograph I had, I now could make out some subtle differences. His eyes, beautiful as they were, were an icy blue, whereas his father's were violet, and much darker. His hair also was black with a blue tint when the light hit it, unlike his father's dark brown. He was dressed very casually, and seemed quite interested in my business there, looking me over hard and analyzing my every feature. Inviting me in, he motioned towards an antique loveseat, taking the spot next to me, and once again, staring at me. I felt I would die under his intense stare, and continually told myself not to, saying, 'He's just a boy, nothing more...just a boy...But, he is so...amazing...'

"So, you're Sarah Yuy, huh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. All I could do was stare at his wonderful, curving, muscular arms, his rounded face that expressed a sense of false innocence...I knew he was a troublemaker, as soon as I saw him. His eyes...I drowned in his ocean blue eyes every time I even thought about them. They seemed to bore into my soul; and I didn't mind it one bit.

Fortunately, and also unfortunately, a door at the back of the room opened, diverting Duo's son's attention from me, allowing me to stop worrying at needing to answer the boy's question, and about whether or not I had something in my teeth for the fact he kept staring at me. 

An energetically loud voice boomed from behind the door as an older version of the Duo in the picture emerged, grinning like a maniac. "Yeah, I know, Howard...It won't take long..." He turned to face me, and his joking expression suddenly turned serious as I stood up, eyes widening. "Howard...this may take a bit longer than expected...Trente, could you ask your mother to get us some water?" He closed the heavy, metal door, which was adorned with wallpaper and pictures on the living room side, and grease smudges on the other, and scratched his head, looking me over hard, just as his son had done.

A slow smile crawled across his lips, and soon he was laughing uncontrollably, much to my surprise. I pulled off my coat and set it down on the couch, and he just cackled louder, doubling over and holding his stomach. As I have been before, I was confused, yet I still managed to keep a fake smile plastered on my face, trying my best to ignore his snickering.

Eventually, he made his way towards me and his guffawing subsided to light chuckles every now and then as he wiped his eyes with a pinky, brushing away his tears of merriment. Thrusting out my hand in an offer of a shake, I announced, "My name is Sarah Yuy and I..." but as soon as I spoke, using my rendition of Father's monotone, he started snickering again, muttering something along the lines of, "She even sounds like him!"

Deciding to keep my anger at bay for the time being, I began to introduce myself again, only to hear a female voice utter, "My good Gods." and drop the tray she was holding. I could see where Trente got his hair and eyes, but by this time, I couldn't care less. My frustration with Duo and now his wife boiled over, but I needed more answers, so I couldn't be rude to them. Yet.

"Third time's a charm..." I murmured, and, still standing, grasped Mr. Maxwell's hand, shaking it roughly. "This is the last time I'm going to accept your rudeness. My name is Sarah Yuy. I believe you know my father, Heero." I stated, trying my best not to sound too angry.

"Just don't shoot me..." he mumbled, and the woman, who had recovered her tray and taken a seat at the computer, giggled softly.

"I'm sorry, am I missing something? You are Duo Maxwell, are you not?" I asked, extremely annoyed at their consistent taunting. 

"No, you're at the right place." He seemed to express extreme over self-confidence, and continued with, "I am _the_ famous Duo Maxwell, God of Death, Pilot of the illustrious Gundam Deathscythe Hell and it's custom, at your service. You should feel honored to be in the presence of a living legend, young lady...I deserve a bit more respect..." He reminded me straight out of Priscilla, and I laughed in spite of myself. 'No,' I contradicted my subconscious. 'He's worse than Prissy every was...'

Catching onto his enormously large ego and practically choking on it, I decided to let my sarcasm get the better of me. "Oh, well, you know, I passed a different Duo Maxwell on the street, perhaps he's the one I'm looking for...his ego would actually fit into this room, you know? Oh, wait, no, you _are_ The Duo Maxwell, aren't you? If you wait a moment, I left the palms in my car, didn't think you wanted them at the moment, sire. And would you prefer one knee or two when I worship? All Gods have their preference, just thought I should ask first..."

He adopted a tone of injured self-esteem, and asked his wife, "Hilde, did you hear that? Relena and Heero's daughter is being mean to me! And after all I went through for her father..."

"Ha, yeah right, you liar! You deserve it!" she shouted back at him. 

I winced visibly at their loudness. They were sitting less than 5 feet away from each other, and still felt the need to yell. Shaking my head, I muttered an, "Oy..." and felt the need to thank his wife. "Thanks, Mrs. Maxwell!" I replied sweetly at her comment. She grinned back and shook her head.

"No problem, dear. What is it that you need? Oh, and how are your parents doing?"

Still yelling. "Well, actually, I need to talk to God over here, and my parents are doing well, thank you." I turned back to the man, who was now twisting his knee-length braid around his finger and pouting. "Are you over yourself?"

"Apologize, or I'm not telling you anything." was all he said. I caught onto the fake sadness he used, and smirked at his dramatic way of expressing himself. 

"Oh, fine. I'm sorry you are so full of yourself..." he frowned, trying to understand what I had apologized for, but I stopped his rare moment of thought by continuing. "Now my father sent me to find out what the Gundams were, or are, and he gave me your name, along with my uncle, Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa. I've already visited my uncle and Wufei..."

"Heero has a brother?" Duo asked, eyes wide in astonishment. "I thought he didn't have any family...Hey, Hilde? Did you know about Heero's brother?"

Hilde sighed before answering him with, "No, dear. Remember Miliardo? Zechs? As in, Relena's brother?"

Duo had to think long and hard about this before replying. "Oh yeah!" he exclaimed when the burnt out light bulb in his head was finally replaced. Then, he thought over my mission (or so it seemed) and added, in horror, "Heero didn't tell you about the Gundams?"

I shook my head. What else could I do? Once again, laughter echoed off the walls until the boy of my dreams came down the hallway and threw a pillow at his father, hitting his extremely loud face square on. "Dad!" he shouted. "Please, stop laughing at the poor girl! It's bad enough Heero didn't tell her about them, you don't have to rub it in!"

The blood rushed to my cheeks as I realized _he_ was defending _me_. I giggled quietly at Duo's shocked face and whispered, "Thank you, Trente." while staring at his heavenly body. 

He looked nervously around as he heard this, and added hastily, "And I'm studying, too, Dad." before running off to his room again. As I watched him go, Duo turned back to face me, throwing and catching the pillow with Hilde, who was still typing at the same time. I watched this feat for a moment, amazed, and mouth agape. My father's old friend noticed me watching him, and stopped paying attention to his previous action, which hit him soundly in the back of his head. 

Rubbing the spot, he explained his outburst of laughter earlier. "The reason I laughed is because that is so typical of Heero! You know how many years it took for him to confess to his love for Relena? Guess what his first words to her where. 'I will kill you.' Now, sorry, this is my opinion, but that doesn't sound too much like it's dripping with positive emotion to me!"

Hilde, who was still listening in, commented loud enough for me to hear. "And this is coming from a man who calls himself the God of Death!" Duo picked up the pillow and hefted it once more across the room, where Hilde caught it, even though her back was still turned. She flung it back and it landed his lap after knocking off his hate, with a note that said, "I love you too." attached to it.

"Yeah, whatever..." he stated under his breath while rising up and taking a quick glance at her. "Let's go outside, where our discussion can't be disturbed." He donned a jacket identical to mine, and led me through the house to the back. "Where'd you get that coat?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning again. I say again...actually, his current grin just seemed to get wider, despite my assumption that it was the biggest and brightest it could get. This had to be one happy man.

"My father gave it to me a few months ago, since I had pretty much confiscated it from his closet and wore it all the time. He told me that it was his favorite coat, full of memories. He also said that it reminded him of an old friend who used to wear one identical to it all the time..." I paused, realizing I was talking to this 'old friend' then and there, who smirked at the comment.

"Yeah, we all got one of those. Even Wufei, but I'll bet he didn't show you his, did he?" 

"No..." I responded. My thoughts drifted to the few days I had spent with the Chinese man, and I smiled at the remembrance of the time we had spent, sniping away at each other and having a battle of the egos that no one could rival. Not even my father... 'Wait...I'll bet Duo could rival both our egos...his is the size of the L1 colony!' We made our way back through the woods behind his house, and I noticed a few benches around a small pond, teeming with coy. 'What is it with these Gundam pilots and woods with ponds?' We took seats across from each other and I watched as he threw some fish food into the water, the hungry water animals surfacing to gobble it up.

Even though I was used to being asked questions in class with Mother, I was not prepared for the barrage of inquiries Duo rained on me. "So, how is Hee-kun doing?" was his first. I raised an eyebrow at his use of such a personal nickname. But, then again, I knew these pilots were close. Although, while he asked, this, he didn't even look up; he seemed too interested in the fish feeding he was partaking in. I sensed there was some hostility in his voice, and a hint of sadness, but I didn't act like I had noticed. 'He just misses Father, that's all...'

"Oh, Father is doing fine, I guess. Mother is too..." I answered, reaching to take some food from him and throw it into the pond.

"You look like him. A lot." he commented, even more sad, as if he missed my father a bit more than what was expected. 

"Thank you. Trente looks a lot like you as well. I actually thought he _was_ you when he answered the door..." I admitted, turning red.

"Think he's cute?" Duo asked, putting on a mask of jollity and plastering a huge grin on his face. I understood he was trying to rid himself of the memory that plagued his thoughts, so I went along with charade.

"Well..." 


	11. "Anyone who crosses me has a date with t...

Chapter 11

"Anyone who crosses me has a date with their maker..." -Duo Maxwell

"Well?" he asked, leaning forward so far I thought for sure he was going to fall into the pond between us.

"I don't know..."I answered coyly, looking away. I felt his violet eyes upon me, and something told me he was smiling. Don't ask what...I had a hunch, you could say. Glancing back at his handsome face confirmed my assumption, and I laughed at the eagerness in his eyes. He wasn't at all like the previous men I had visited...or like my father. He loved showing emotion, expressing exactly how he felt. Hilde was one lucky woman.

"You do! You like him! I knew it!" Somehow, even though my thoughts had not a thing to do with the gorgeous boy-god inside, Duo interpreted as 'I like your son.'

'How odd certain people's minds work.' I thought, raising an eyebrow at the braided man sitting in front of me, grinning gleefully.

"Uh, Mr. Maxwell..."

He snorted, looking away. "Call me Duo, please..."

Not about to address him that personally, I chose the next level down. "Duo-san...I need to ask you some questions, if you don't mind, about the Gundams. As you know, my father didn't tell me...well, anything about them, or you and the others, yet he sent me on a mission to locate all of you and return to him at the end of the summer with my questions answered."

He nodded, face thoughtful. "Of course, I'll be happy to comply. But, first, and answer me. Do you think my son is handsome?"

I don't think Duo ever really knew how much I wanted to scream from the top of a mountain for all the world to hear, "Yes! I think Trente is so irresistibly cute and I would do anything to be able to see his gorgeous face again for five minutes!"

So, I answered politely, not completely embarrassing myself, but satisfying him and giving due credit to the boy. "Yes, I think your son is a very attractive young man. He'll definitely be a heartbreaker, if he isn't already, when he gets older and matures a bit more."

Duo stared at me until I thought his eyes would pop out. "You've been living at home with Heero and especially Relena _way_ too long...if ya think he's cute, say he's cute!"

I sighed. 'He will not let up!' I contradicted my thought earlier about him not being like the other men; he was just as stubborn, if not more, as those men. "Fine. Yes. I think Trente...," I practically melted at the mention of his name. Regaining myself, I continued and ended my sentence. "...is cute."

Duo nodded. "I knew you did. Now, what are your questions?"

"Duo?"

I looked up from the pond, which had suddenly seemed very interesting while talking with the man about his son, at the voice of Hilde, his wife. He grabbed the small radio clipped to his belt and pushed the button on the side to respond. "Yes, Hilde?"

"Dinner's ready."

'Not important...' I thought, starting to ask my first question. But, Duo interrupted me. "Dinner's ready."

"So I heard...anyway, what is your--"

"Aren't you coming?" I looked up at this inquiry, seeing him starting to leave the clearing. 

"Must we go now?" I asked, disappointment heard in my voice easily.

He looked at me as if I had just asked to jump off a cliff. Licking his lips and looking down he frowned. "Let me rephrase this: Dinner is ready." He put the emphasis on 'dinner' and 'ready' noticeably, and he nodded to add to the effect.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and rose, upset that I would have to wait to ask my questions. Then, I found the up side to having to go eat dinner.

Trente would be there.

The little voice inside my head did the Happy Dance while periodically shouting exultations of pure joy while I smiled and followed Duo back to the house.

And there he was. 

The God of Good Looks.

Trente Maxwell.

And Duo, being the ever-so-helpful cupid that he is, decided to embarrass me even further and _let_ me sit next to his son. Which I enjoyed immensely, let me say, but not being able to speak severely limits the ability to ask for someone to 'pass the salt.'

And then, the dinner conversation started. How I wished I had brought my gun inside with me, but, seeing as how I was sure I wouldn't need it, I had left it in the car. I gave myself a sound reprimand later that night, and from then on, my gun never left my side.

"So, Sarah, do you have a boyfriend?"

How I wanted to kill that braided baka.. Restraining myself, I took a bit of the delicious salad Hilde had prepared and shook my head. "I've never left the house until now, you know...I've been home schooled my whole life. And I'm sure Father would kill any boy who got close to me..." I glanced at Trente, who seemed scared out of his mind at the thought, having heard stories of my father from Duo and Hilde, I'm sure. I mentally slapped myself. 'There I go, scaring away the guy of my dreams...smart move, Sarah!'

Hilde chuckled at this. "No, Heero wouldn't kill the boy...he'd torture and beat him soundly. Then he'd kill him!"

I heard Trente try to laugh, but he only ended up choking on a drink of tea. Then, a thought arose, which I pondered over endlessly. 'Why is he becoming nervous about what my father would do if I ever had a boyfriend? Is he...considering to apply for the job?' I looked towards Trente, who had turned red in the cheeks and sat hunched over, seeming _way_ too interested in his food, which he was making interesting designs with.

Then, Duo opened his mouth again. And it wasn't to spoon food in..

"You know, Trente doesn't have a girlfriend..."

Hilde glared at her husband, realizing full well what he was trying to do. How I loved Hilde...

I decided to join the woman in her glare, only to see Duo shoving food down his throat like there was no tomorrow.

'Ah...so that's why he looked at me like I was insane earlier when I was disappointed about having to eat...' I realized, nodding. I turned to look at Trente, whom I caught staring at me again. I smiled as sweetly as I could, and asked, "Trente? Don't you have anything to say?" His cheeks flushed crimson again and he smiled back, looking down. 'Why does he keep blushing?'

"Well...I think Dad needs to continue using his mouth for eating and not for talking, don't you?"

I giggled, looking him in the eyes when he glanced up. "Yes...I do."

I do not think I've ever seen anyone redder than Trente at that moment. We gazed into each other's eyes for the better half of a minute, until Duo caused us to break our staring contest, bringing me back to reality, unfortunately, with a question. The person trying to hook us up was preventing it at the same time!

"So, Sarah, how were your visits with Miliardo and...Wufei, did you say?" I nodded, confirming. "And Wufei?" he continued his question, chewing on a stalk of steamed broccoli.

"They were...interesting, to say the least. My uncle's daughter, Priscilla...boy is she a character. She was the one who brought me up to the house. My aunt ended up knocking me out...she thought I was trying to kill Uncle Miliardo..."

Hilde's eyes grew to the size of small saucers. "Why would she think that?"

I smiled sheepishly, looking at my fork with renowned interest. "Well...I did have a gun pulled on him...you'd be better not to ask..." I added when she started to open her mouth again.

Duo paused his consumption of the food Hilde had prepared long enough to ask, "What did he tell you about the Gundams?"

"Well, nothing, really. He showed me Epyon and let me try the Zero System against a simulation battle he created, that's all." I answered nonchalantly, taking another bite. 

I didn't think mouths could drop that quickly.

"Nani!?" came from Duo, Japanese.

"Was?!" I heard Hilde pronounce with a perfect German accent.

"You're German?" I asked, turning to Hilde and ignoring their shock at my previous statement. She was still too surprised to answer, so I turned to Trente. "She's German?"

He nodded. "Her maiden name is Schbeiker..."

Thinking about this, I realized her first name was German as well. 'I always miss the obvious...'

Then, remembering that the adults were still awaiting an answer, I smiled, looking from one to the other. "Yes, I was exposed to Epyon and the Zero System. You heard me right."

Facing Hilde, I asked, "Du sprecht Deutsch?"

Recovering slightly, she answered. "Ja, spreche Deutsch. Unterrichst Heero du Deutsch?"

"Ja, er unterrichst samt manche sonstig sprachen. Como español, y japones, y mucho otra lenguas. ¿Y tú?"

"Sí, sí, yo salgo español. Tú hablas español con facilidad. ¿Cuántos lenguas hacer tú sabes?"

"Uh..." I counted them on my fingers. "Doce lenguas, pienso."

Duo was getting irritated at our side conversation, even though he knew exactly what we were saying, and stopped any further comments. "Yes, that's all fine and dandy...or would you like that in Spanish? Sí, eso todo perfecto y curructaco...o en alemán? Ja, das ist alles Bußgeld und Dandy....Anyway...you used the Zero System?" 

I smiled at his impatience, and noted his almost perfect Spanish accent. "Sí, yo soy exponé a la 'Sistema de Cero...' " I answered, grinning. "Sorry, just kidding...Yes, I was exposed to the Zero System..."

"When was that?"

I counted back. "Three days ago."

Again, mouths dropped.

"Just three days?"

"I think...let's see, I spent two days at my Uncle's and left the third, spent that night at Wufei's the next day, and left this morning...and now I'm here. Yeah, three days ago."

Surprisingly, Duo laughed. It shouldn't have surprised me, though. I, by then, had figured out he laughs at the most _not_ funny situations... 'He will probably be laughing when he dies...' I thought, watching him.

"You must be kidding! I was exposed to the Zero System and didn't fully recover until two weeks later! After a week, I was stable enough to perform easy tasks, but...three days I was still a vegetable! How could you be fine after three days?"

Hilde seemed deep in thought this whole time, then stood up abruptly, hand above her hand. "I know! Du-chan...think of who this is. It's Heero's daughter! She has both Heero _and_ Relena in her...strength, endurance...and recovery. You said yourself you once saw Heero pop his own knee cap back in place without any medical assistance, and he could still outrun you..."

The said man grimaced. "Don't remind me..."

"But you see what I'm getting at?"

Duo nodded, sighing. "Yeah, she's Super-Sarah." He narrowed his eyes, and almost looked jealous for a moment. How could I not laugh? "Anyway...how was your visit with Wufei? Did he try the whole 'Injustice and Dishonor!' thing on you?"

I chuckled lightly, still eating. "Well, actually, no...we played a game of chess, then went through a round of Shanai fighting. I left the next day. It was fun."

"Wufei...fun? Are you sure you went to the right house?"

"He gave me the directions here, didn't he?"

~*~

The dinner continued with more small talk, casual conversation, until late into the night, at which I stated, "I'm going to bed..." and looked to Hilde.

She considered this for a moment, then turned to Trente. "Dear, could you set up the guest room for Sarah please?"

How I loved Hilde.

I watched him start to lead the way and followed eagerly, enjoying the lovely view I had from _behind_ him.

"So, what do you think of my parents?" he asked, reaching into a closet to grab some sheets and a blanket. 

I helped him prepare the bed, stretching the sheet across and tucking it under the mattress corners, answering, "Oh, they're really nice..."

He laughed. "Yeah, they're characters..." He plopped down on the finished bed, looking up at me and smiling. "Did Heero really keep you away from...society and reality?"

I pursed my lips. My father was so hard to explain. "It wasn't just his idea...Mother, Relena, she wanted it too. It was a decision justly made...my father was the leader of the Gundams, and my mother...crowned daughter of the Peacecraft family and ruler of the Cinq Kingdom...it would have been hard to live in public. I, actually, am glad they taught me, because I know they taught me more than I would learn in any school. It is kind of hard to adapt to seeing other people, total strangers, when all I've ever known of the outside world has been pictures from a book, but I'm doing okay."

Trente nodded, understanding every word I said. "It must be cool though...having _the_ Heero Yuy for a father...and the former Queen of the World for your mom..."

Queen of the World?

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked, blinking furiously. 'I must be tired...I'm hearing things...'

"What, Queen of the World? Didn't they tell you that? Your mother was Queen of the World for a short time in the year AC 195. I can't believe they didn't tell you!"

My mother...Queen of the...World?

How could they not tell me? It's kinda hard to forget something as significant as that... 'Oh, oops, sorry, I almost completely forgot...your mother was Queen of the World once...' Father's raspy voice echoed I my head, sounding way too innocent.

"Trente...?" Those gorgeous blue eyes again. "I'm sorry, but...could you leave? I have some...thinking I need to do."

"Sure, Sarah...oh, there isn't an alarm clock in here...do you want me to come wake up at a certain time?" that raven-haired beauty asked, pausing at the door.

'Trente, I'd love to wake up to you any day...'

I almost fell off my bed at the sound of my voice, expressing my true, unaltered thoughts. Eyes wide, my hands clamped over my mouth to stop the torture, but were too late. I said it. All of it.

The boy's cheeks flushed as bright red as I'm sure my own did when he heard this, and he chuckled lightly, bringing a hand behind his head. To save my embarrassment, he asked, "So, at 6 or 7?"

All I could do was nod, which didn't really help the situation much.

"How about 6:30? Halfway in between? Is that okay?"

I nodded again.

"Great, 6:30 it is! It's a date! See you then, bright and early tomorrow morning!" With that, he scurried out of my room, heading up the stairs to his own, where I'm sure he would contemplate my bold statement as much as I would.

As soon as he left, one word escaped my lips.

"Kuso!"

************************************************************************

Authors note:

I HAVE FIXED THE GERMAN! Go me! Actually, I want to specifically thank moonie719 for his (not gender specific!) corrections, they are much appreciated! I hope it's all correct now, my wonderful friend, Bef-channy (TenshiKachuu) looked over my Spanish, it should be okay...if not, once again, email me! Or just review with corrections. Gracias to Bef-channy, and Danke to moonie719!

Most of the people reading this don't German and/or Spanish, so I will translate what Hilde and Sarah were talking about when they were using those languages...if you understood them, and have corrections on either, PLEASE email me so I may fix them. I translated the Spanish myself, but the German I had to use a translator since I don't speak German! (Makes sense, doesn't it?) Anyway...this is what the conversation says:

Facing Hilde, I asked, "Do you speak German?"

Recovering slightly, she answered. "Yes, I speak German. Did Heero teach you German?"

"Yes, along with many other languages. Like Spanish, and Japanese, and many other languages. And you?"

"Yes, yes, I know Spanish. You speak Spanish fluently (literally it's "with fluency"). How many languages do you know?"

"Uh..." I counted them on my fingers. "Twelve languages, I think."

Blah Blah (Duo is talking)

Then, Duo pretty much just says, "Yes, that's all fine and dandy..." in Spanish and German. Then, Sarah responds in Spanish with, "Yes, I was exposed to (lit: 'The System of Zero) the Zero System."

My sentence structure and word usage in the other languages is definitely not as good as my English, you must understand, so the way it's written is a bit...choppy, if you take my meaning. But you get the general idea! I hope you liked it! I think so far this is my favorite chapter...mostly because of the ending. And now I'm babbling...Review please!

*-Priscilla-*

or, informally:

*-Jen-chan-*


	12. "Heero..."

Chapter 12

"Heero..." -Relena Darlian/Peacecraft

"But Trente, no one would need to know...and we are safe here, I promise..." I heard myself say quietly, grasping the said boy's hand. I looked deep into his eyes, those pools of ocean blue, and smiled, trying to convince him. He bit his lip, clearly in conflict with himself, and sighed, wanting what I wanted, but not sure it was the right thing to do. 

"What about your father? What if he ever found out?" he asked, eyes showing more fear now, after hearing about my father from his own parents. "And what about Mom and Dad? What would they think? I don't know Sarah..."

An idea presented itself in my mind, and I grinned at this brainstorm, scooting myself closer to him. "Maybe this will help make up your mind..." I took his face in my hands and--

"Sarah? Good morning! Wake up! Are you dressed yet?" Trente's voice came echoing down the hallway as he approached my door, bright and early. I awoke with a start, sitting upright immediately, and looked to the mirror on the vanity nearby, noticing my bright red face. 

"It was...a...dream?" I brought my hands to my blushing cheeks, eyes wide, and stared at myself until I was brought back to reality by Trente's shouting and continuous pounding.

"Saaaaarrrrraaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh?!?!?!!?!" 

Sighing, I grabbed a robe and wrapped it around myself, and quickly brushed my hair. I was not about to let Trente see me at my worst. "I'm up, I'm up!" I yelled back, rolling my eyes and smiling. 'He is so cute...' 

"Can I come in?" he asked quietly, sounding embarrassed.

My eyes widened. He wanted to come in my room. I had just woken up, and was wearing...well, not much of anything... "Uh..." I raced around my room, making my bed and throwing my clothes in the closet, shutting it swiftly. Wrapping the robe around me tighter, I took one last glance in the mirror and made my way to the door, reaching for the handle. Inhaling, I turned it and peeked around the door, seeing him looking around the hallway and biting his lip, wondering if I was going to allow him in. "Trente?" I asked quietly, eyebrows raising unconsciously. He turned quickly, startled, and met my eyes for a moment, before looking down at the floor, analyzing the carpet and his shoes. 

"Are you awake?"

I smiled. He was just as nervous as I was. "No, that's why I'm standing here talking to you, Trente." He chuckled lightly, eyes lifting to meet my gaze again. Cheeks a light pink, he grinned and watched me, looking over all my features. 'Is he...checking me out?' I wondered, laughing at his indiscreet way of doing so. He hadn't had much practice, I figured out. But, then again, I hadn't either...the events of the previous night came flooding back, along with that damned sentence that I had last said to him. 'Trente, I'd love to wake up to you any--'

"So what would you like for breakfast? Mom said that since you are the guest, it's your choice." he cut off my thoughts, leaning forward and looking me straight in the eyes. Once again, I found myself speechless. He smiled, knowing full well that it was him that caused this to happen to me. 'Damn his good looks!' I cursed in my head, trying to look away so I could regain myself. "How about French Toast?" he suggested.

'French Toast?' I had never had that before. Mom never really cooked breakfast at the house, we just had coffee and cereal, or bagels of some sort. It was a rare occasion that she cooked eggs. "What is French Toast?" I inquired, confused and for once not focused on the gorgeous boy in front of me. He looked at me, surprise flooding his face as he laughed.

"You mean to tell me you've never had French Toast before? No way! You must be kidding! That's only the best breakfast in the world!" he exclaimed. Seeing my shaking head, his eyes widened in disbelief and he leaned forward more, getting only a few inches away from my face. Looking me in the eyes, he stared for what seemed an eternity, then whispered breathlessly, "Well, I guess we'll have to have...that...then..."

"Trente, are you waking her up, or trying to seduce her?"

I don't think I've ever seen anyone turn that red before. The boy in front of me turned abruptly around to face his father, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs and laughing his head off, grabbing his sides as they ached with his expression of merriment. "Dad!" Trente yelled as he vaulted at his father, who sidestepped quickly and laughed even harder as his son hit the stairs. 

"Mornin' Sarah..." he managed to get out between giggles as he evaded his mortified son, passing me a few times, then going up the stairs. "See ya for brekkies?" I nodded dumbly, watching this game of cat and mouse, then turned and made my way back into my room to get ready for breakfast. What an odd start for the day...

After a shower and getting dressed, I went upstairs, following the aroma of cinnamon and butter, a wonderful smell. I drifted aimlessly through the house, getting used to my surroundings, and finally got to the kitchen, where I met Hilde, busily running around and making this foreign breakfast called _French Toast_. Planting myself on a stool at the island separating the kitchen from the dining room, I watched with renowned interest. 

First, she had made a mixture of eggs and cinnamon in a shallow bowl, which she dumped pieces of bread into. Then she would place them in the frying pan, which had butter melted in it already, and sprinkle more cinnamon on top, waiting for them to cook. After one side was toasty, she would flip them, and cook the other, adding more cinnamon and creating a heavenly smell. After making about a loaf of these cooked cinnamon bread things, she placed them all on a platter, got out the butter and syrup, and set the table. I felt that I had to help, so I carried what I could into the dining room, placing it in the middle. She smiled and wished me a good morning, and turned off the stove, grabbing a cup of coffee. 

"Why did you make so much of this French Toast stuff?"

She laughed, taking a seat at the table and dishing up all the plates but one. "You've seen my husband eat." was all she said. After giving each plate about four pieces, she moved the rest to one side of the table and yelled out the window, "Trente! Duo! Breakfast!"

Then I realized why she had only set three of the places up. The rest went to Duo. I should have figured that one out, especially after seeing him at dinner the night before. The two boys came inside, Trente limping slightly, and Duo with a bruised cheek, and sat down, eyes wide as they looked over the food the woman of the house had prepared. 

"What were you guys doing to each other?" I asked, noticing their slight injuries. 

Duo laughed, as did Trente, and started eating. "We were--Mmmm Hilde babe this is good!--just--yum!--having some fun is all, Sarah..." I decided not to pursue that thought further and watched as the family ate, trying to figure out how to eat this unexplained food. Trente saw my indecisiveness and smiled, scooting his chair closer to me and moving his food next to mine. 

"Here, I'll show you how." He took my fork and knife, smiling the whole while, and grabbed the butter and syrup from his father, who was already through half his food. Spreading butter on each piece of toast, he stacked them neatly and started cutting them into smaller pieces, blushing as I watched him. "Do you want syrup?" I nodded. I didn't even know what syrup was, but it sounded good to me. He could have suggested that I put mayonnaise on my French Toast and I would have agreed. That's how much influence he had on me. Slathering the breakfast in a thick brown liquid, he picked up a piece with my fork, and swirled it around in this syrup stuff, then picked it up, letting the excess drip off. Looking at me and smiling that classic grin of his, he brought the forkful towards my mouth, at which I opened it, taking in the food he was offering. I don't think I've ever had a breakfast that good before. It was so sweet and absolutely...

"Scrumptious." I giggled, chewing it slowly and reaching for my juice. Taking my eyes from Trente, I looked around the table at Hilde, who was staring at us with a happy expression on her face, and Duo, who stared at us like we were nuts. I gazed down at my food, biting my lip, and happened to catch a glance of Trente, who was doing the same, more than just pink in the cheeks. 

"What?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed as he moved to get a napkin, seeming to brush it off as nothing. 

Duo started to tease, but Hilde kicked him under the table, muttering something harsh, and breakfast continued silently, except for the occasional burp from Duo or 'pass the syrup' from me. I came to really like syrup that morning...

~*~

"Please Mr. Maxwell?"

The braided man shook his head. "Not right now!" I scowled. I couldn't get him to say anything about the Gundams, and much less, my father. I wanted to know what he was like when he was my age, what my mother was like...I watched him sitting at the computer, playing a game of _Star Craft_, and sighed. 'Why is he so reluctant to talk about Father?' Finally, a beeping came through the laptop speakers and he frowned as the words "Game Over" came flashing across the screen. He glanced over at me, eyes narrowed, and popped up, heading towards the kitchen for a glass of pop. I sighed loudly and followed, stomping loud enough for him to hear. Suddenly, he stopped in mid stride and whirled around, facing me and causing a near collision. Luckily for me, I have quick reflexes, and swerved just in time, only hitting a table instead. 

"Kuso!" I cursed quietly, grabbing my shin and looking up at him. 

He stared at me, face, for once, serious, and tapped his foot, looking impatient. "Well?"

My eyebrows raised as the pain in my leg reduced and I glared at him, confused. "Well what?" 

"Hmph." he rolled his eyes and snorted, smirking. "Well what do you want to know, Miss Yuy?"

Finally I would get some answers. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of any questions. Getting answers to questions you don't have is a bit pointless, I must say. Frowning, I tried to think of something to stall while I came up with some questions. "How about we go sit outside like yesterday?" I suggested, hoping he would go for it.

"Why? It's quite hot outside. I thought you wanted to ask me questions! Now is your chance. Ask away." My face fell visibly, I'm sure. Plopping down on a nearby bench, I searched my thoughts for a question, any question at all...

"Why do you always wear black?" I wanted to smack myself. Of all questions, I had to ask about his fashion sense. 

His eyebrows quirked, and he chuckled lightly, shaking his head in mirth. "Well, to tell the truth, I'm not exactly sure. Most people would say it's because I've experienced so much pain in my life, but...I just find comfort in black. It fits me. I can't explain it really, it's just...what seems to suit me."

"So much pain?" He certainly didn't seem like he had experienced that much pain, he always seemed happy-go-lucky to me...

Duo nodded, eyes loosing their sparkle. "Well, I lost my family when I was very young, grew up in a church, which was then destroyed, and had to live a life of death, trained to kill. Then I lost Heero and..." he paused, tears welling up in his eyes. "Most people don't know what I really feel. I make myself happy so I don't bring everyone else down. There are some good things that have happened in my life, but...not enough to outweigh the bad. I have Hilde, and we have Trente, and I am finally living a normal life, but...I'll never forget those nights of loneliness, not knowing where...where Heero was or where I was..." He looked up at me, and I noticed his eyes widen as he saw who he was talking to, Heero's daughter. Me. Sarah Peacecraft Yuy. 

'He talks of my father like they were...'

"Excuse me. You can play the game if you want, I have to...go work..." With that, he got up and left the room quickly, wiping away his tears with a sleeve, sending them flying down like rain. Those crystal droplets, held back for years, shimmered in the sunlight streaming in from the window, represented sorrow like none other. But I couldn't get over the way he spoke of my father...

Had they been more than just teammates? More than just fellow Gundam Pilots? 

But he had Hilde, Father had Mother...

Did they? 

*******************************************************

Author's Note:

Yeah, I normally don't include these lil notes, but for this chapter I think I must...what did you think? Ooh a bit of mystery, isn't it?

Duo and...

Heero? *gasps are heard throughout the crowd* Were they? We'll see! Review! As a wonderful friend of mine said... "A reviewed author is a happy author!" Take her advice! I love reviews! Flames...*laughs* even those are fun, because it at least means you read my story! Just Do It!

**No Nike endorsement intended...I like Adidas better! ~.ó**


	13. “Well in that case I believe I was givin...

Chapter 13

"Well in that case I believe I was giving Heero too much credit. I thought he was the most sane one of us all." -Chang Wufei

I sat at the computer desk, watching the screen saver go by, and contemplated all that had happened a few moments earlier. Duo had just poured his heart out to me and walked off crying, acting like it was nothing...

What was all that he said about my father? 

Why did he insinuate that their relationship was...

No. It couldn't have been. Father wasn't like that. I saw how he and Mother were. It couldn't be. Never.

I pushed those absurd thoughts from my mind immediately, completely in denial. 'I wonder how to play this _Star Craft_ game...' I figured if I busied myself, I wouldn't think about it...

Boy was I wrong.

While looking around on Duo's computer, I stumbled across a folder titled _Heero_, and since that happened to be my father, I got nosy and opened it.

Then I realized why Duo was so upset talking about Father. And I wished I hadn't ever opened that folder.

What I found were pictures of him and my father, about fifty of them. At first, they just seemed to be shots of friends, but the more I looked at, the more it clicked into place. They started turning into pictures of them at the beach, splashing each other, or pictures of them at dinner together, by themselves. As I scanned through these, the truth became clear. Then there was a saved email message turned into a text document in the folder, at the bottom. Opening it, I read what sounded the saddest note I've ever read.

__

Duo:

The past couple months have been enjoyable. You know I love you. But something has come up. I don't think it will work. I've noticed your increased time spent with Hilde, and you know I've been doing more things with Relena lately. It was fun while it lasted, but...I think we both knew it wouldn't go on forever. I'll never stop loving you, but I think we know this lifestyle isn't for us. We both need a female touch around. Stay in touch.

Always,

H.

Duo had been dumped, and worse of all, by my...father? 

My father was...

The tears wouldn't stop, no matter what I tried. I grabbed the tissues nearby, but they couldn't stop the flow, just clean it up. Pushing myself away from the computer, I stood up, cursing my father for not being what I thought he was. 'How could you!?' was all I thought, furious at him. 

"You bastard!"

I don't know how long I ran, but it seemed an eternity as I left the house and made my way through the woods behind it, not caring what bush I ran through or what tree I side-swiped, until I finally got to the clearing Duo had first taken me to when I arrived there the day before. I collapsed on one of the benches, sobbing out my anger at my father, when my tears subsided and I watched the coy in the pond below, swimming around each other playfully. "First, he forgets to mention the fact that my mother was the Queen of the World...now he forgets to say that he was...another man's lover? How many lies did he tell me? Is my name really Sarah? Is he my real fucking father?" I choked out, eyes shut as I turned my face skywards, still maddened by the deceit that was my father. 'My father...'

"Sarah...I'm sure he never meant for you to find out like this." The hatred I felt must have been reflected in my eyes, for as soon as I turned to Duo, he cowered away at my gaze, face distorted as he looked away. At the time, I didn't care. I didn't care that he didn't have anything to do with the fact that my father kept so many secrets from me, his only child, I was still angry at the world. Why did I have to be born into such a confusing place? Why couldn't my father have raised me like every other normal person?

Once again, my thoughts came through to my mouth and were heard by another, at which he responded, coming forward to place his arms around me as I collapsed again, a weeping mess. "Because you are not a normal person, Sarah. No one is. You are exceptional in the fact that you are Heero and Relena's daughter. You have the best of them both in you, and I envy their ability to create such a wonderful child. You should feel proud that you were raised the way you were, because I don't know anyone who could have been raised like you were. Not even Heero. The way he was brought up was different, uncaring. You care, otherwise you wouldn't be here crying in my arms." Duo reached down and brought my face up to look at his, which only expressed sympathy. "It's not his fault."

Those words echoed in my head until I realized that it wasn't. It wasn't his fault. 

"I'll tell you the whole story, if you are willing to listen." he offered, handing me a tissue. I sniffled and wiped my eyes, clearing my head, and nodded. Might as well. "Your father and I met while he was being held hostage by Oz and Lieutenant Noin, whom you have already met. I broke him out and since then we were together on missions, but we hadn't really given any thought to..." he blushed at this, looking away, but continued when he saw my stony face. "Us. After Operation Meteor was over is when we got closer, and it continued throughout the Mariemaia incident. A few days after that ended is when I received that letter from him. A week after I got that letter, I proposed to Hilde, and I haven't seen him since. He didn't even come to our wedding. I didn't know that he and Relena got married, not until you showed up and said you were their kid. I hope that explains it all."

So it was nothing more than...a fling? Something they were just experimenting with? "Did it mean anything to you?"

His turn to get stone-faced. "Of course it meant something. I loved your father. And I believe he loved me, but I think it was hard for him to love anyone at the time. I'm surprised he went to Relena that soon after, but...I think everyone expected it, so there weren't any questions asked. I miss him, but...he was right. We knew that lifestyle wasn't for us. And now I'm happier than I've ever been, and it seems he's doing well too." I handed the tissue to him, knowing he would need it more than I would at that point. 

Suddenly he turned around to face me, a huge grin on his face, and the sparkle back in his eyes. 

"So, hungry for lunch?"

I smiled. What else could I do? "Do you always mask your pain?" I asked, linking my arm with his. He laughed, voice echoing off the surrounding trees.

"Not always. Sometimes I really am happy! Especially when..." he brought his voice to a whisper, leaning in close to me. I was expecting something really serious, when he yelled, "IT'S LUNCH TIME!" and knocked me over, almost falling into the pond. Thank god for my quick reflexes, otherwise I'd need a blow-dryer and my gun real quick. Blow-dryer for obvious reasons, the gun, on the other hand?

So I could shoot that braided baka as he ran off towards the house, ducking and rolling like a true soldier would when being pursued. 

~*~

I found my way back to the house, and walked calmly in, bypassing Duo and Hilde, who were already at the table, heading straight for my car. As I reached the door, intent on obtaining my long needed gun, I bumped into Trente, who was just coming inside from the store with a bag of candy. "Whoa, Sarah, where's the fire? What did Dad do now?"

He really did know his father all too well. I laughed it off and allowed him to lead me back inside, forgetting my previous death wish for Duo, and sat down with him, once again amazed at the spread Hilde had prepared. 

After lunch, I thankfully restrained myself from killing Duo, and decided to accompany Trente on a trip to the mall. I had never been to a mall before, and it just seemed like a fun place to be with the boy of my dreams alone. Little did I know that malls have hundreds of people in them. We spent the afternoon there, hanging out and enjoying each other's company, until Hilde called us and said that dinner would be ready soon. It was at dinner I decided that I needed to move on. I already knew enough about Duo, I didn't need to know any more about what the Gundams did to him. I announced this, as I had at the other houses I had, and received the same response.

"Why?"

I smiled, taking a sip of juice. "I have to move on. I need to make it home. I realize Father gave me the whole summer, but I want to go home quickly so I can surprise him. And, before I go home, I know I'll have to think of what I am going to tell him. I have had so much fun here, and I thank you for your hospitality, but I have to leave." I stated, getting up to clear my place. Duo and Hilde just stared, mouths open, and Trente looked down at his plate, seemingly upset. The events that took place next surprised me more than finding out about my father's previous relationship with his fellow teammate. 

"I'm going with you."

All eyes turned to Trente, who had the most serious look of determination on his face I don't think even my father would have challenged him. "You...are?" I asked, eyes wide as I dropped the plate I was holding. It fell to the floor, shattering, which brought everyone back to reality as the pieces flew in all directions, prompting many apologies from me to Hilde.

Trente just nodded and came to help me pick it up, looking me straight in the eye. "Yes. I am."

I was speechless. It seemed he had that affect on me at the most inopportune times. Regaining my voice and continuing to clean up the plate, I nodded my approval. 

"Okay."

***************************

AN: Alright, not too much Yaoi, right? Just a hint? *looks hopeful* I hope it wasn't too bad...did you endure it? If you are reading this, then you did! Please, no flames, I've been doing so well with this story, a flame might make me have to stop it! How did you like this chapter? Review review review! I would really appreciate it...if you didn't like it, please, PLEASE, write CC, not a flame. Flames are for the weak minded. Can I have some real criticism? Arigato! 

And here is my solemn promise: NO MORE YAOI!!! At all! I won't say a thing more about it! Sarah might have some problems with it and could possibly think about it, but the newest addition to her little search party for the Gundam Pilots, I don't think her mind will be thinking about her father's previous relationship, more likely her future one with this boy-god! And, for Cim, no evil eyebrow witch! You have my authoress word, okay? Gosh, you guys are making me give away all the hints to the future chapters...*sighs* Yeah right there are a lot more plot twists left! *grins*


	14. "We mustn't fight!"

Chapter 14

"We mustn't fight! -Quatre Raberba Winner

It took me quite a few minutes before I fully comprehended what Trente had just announced. Not only did he want to go with me, but he didn't really give me a say in the whole matter. His parents looked just as surprised as I did, but soon after Duo got this impetuous grin on his face that seemed to suggest nothing more than mischief. As such he was known for, I'm sure. Even in knowing him only a couple days I'd come to realize that Duo was all about mischief, and mischief was all about Duo. Hilde, on the other hand, looked like she had just seen an adorable kitten playing with a piece of string.

"Awwww...."

My cheeks could not have gotten redder, so I cleaned up the plate and quickly left the room, muttering something about having to go to the bathroom. Upon reaching my destination, I shut the door, a bit louder than meaning, and plopped down on the toilet seat, contemplating what had just happened. Trente must have thought I was mad, for a moment later there was a quiet knock on the door, my name called softly.

"Yes, Trente?"

I heard him sigh, although, in relief or to calm himself down, I wasn't sure. "Are you alright?"

I smiled, and got up to answer his call. "Yes." I opened the door, looking straight at him, and stepped into the hallway, my back to the bathroom. He immediately seemed very interested in his feet, at which I chuckled, noting his nervousness. "Are you?" I asked, leaning into his gaze and bringing it up to my face and not the carpet. He nodded, and for once I wasn't the one who was speechless. I decided to break the silence, as I knew it was making us both uneasy, with, "I'm glad you want to come with me, but are you sure you want to?"

A fire leapt to his eyes I never thought him capable of as he answered sternly with, "Of course I want to go with you. I would never give up this chance, no matter what." The abruptness of which he replied surprised me, as well as the determination and heart put into what he said, only making me 

happier.

"I'm sorry I left so quickly." was all I managed to say, heart racing and palms sweating as I thought of what the future would bring, now that Trente was my partner and companion for the quest my father had sent me on. Looking away from his soft eyes, I breathed deeply, controlling my blood pressure 

and slowing my heart rate, knowing I would have problems later if I didn't. He saw this, and moved to be in front of me again, gazing into my eyes and causing all previous focus to be lost in his stare.

"Don't worry about it. Did Heero teach you to do that?"

My eyes widened as I realized he knew I was lowering my heart rate voluntarily, and I bit my bottom lip, looking at his knees. `Damn. He even has sexy legs!' Remembering to answer, I nodded. "Yes, Father taught me to lower my blood pressure and heart rate when I was very young, as he was taught to do. He would hook me up to a heart monitor and tell me to lower it to a number, and if I didn't do it pretty quickly, I would get punished with more exercises or more running. I learn quickly, thankfully."

Trente, lifting my chin, smiled, eyes twinkling as he thought of this. "Why do you need to lower your heart rate? Is it...faster than normal...at the moment?"

I must have seemed a deer in front of headlights, for he laughed at my expression, and the steamy instant between us was lost momentarily. I forced a giggle in spite of myself, and for a second, it seemed we were the only ones in the world left, which I enjoyed immensely. This lasted for what seemed an eternity as I stared at him, and he stared back, but, unfortunately, our gaze was broken by none other than Duo, the braided wonder.

"Whatcha guys doin'?" Then, to Trente, "Are you really going with her?" His son nodded, still looking at me and seeming to be ignorant of his father's presence.

"Sarah, will you come with me?" I nodded and allowed myself to be taken off by Trente's hand at my elbow, not even acknowledging Duo, who stood at the end of the hall, eyebrow raised and mouth open as he saw us scamper off. Trente pulled me through the house to his room, where he opened the door,

blushed at the slight mess, and gestured for me to sit on the bed. I did as he wanted, noting the bounciness of the mattress, and watched, smirk across my cheeks, as he raced around, picking up clothing and straightening his room quickly, wanting to make a good impression. As he shoved clothing in the closet and shut it, leaning against it and sighing heavily, I let out a previously suppressed laugh, much to his surprise. "What?" he asked, sitting down heavily next to me.

I shook my head, grinning broadly. "Nothing." I answered innocently. He smirked now, and turned to face me, sitting cross-legged on his bed.

"Sarah..." he whispered, taking one of my hands in his own. I felt my cheeks redden as he stared at me, drinking in all of my features, and tried looking away, afraid that if I looked into his eyes, I might do something rash. Counting in my head, I lowered my heart rate successfully, much to my surprise, despite my anxiety and nervousness.

Getting up the might to look at him head on, I did, and found myself lost in his endless pools of ice blue eyes, just as I thought I would be. Scooting myself closer rather indiscreetly, I grasped his other hand, and, just as quietly, replied. "Trente..."

"I..." But before he could finish his sentence, I did the rash thing I was afraid I would do if I stared back into his eyes. Leaning forward, I pressed my lips on his, closing my eyes as I experienced my first kiss. Reveling in the taste and the fiery sensation that swept through my body, I timidly wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing to deepen the kiss. He sensed this, and responded accordingly, much to my surprise and instant pleasure. A moment later, we broke off, eyes closed as we hovered near each other's 

faces, then I leaned back, licking my lips in satisfaction. My first kiss...

"Oh my Kami...your dad is gonna kill me."

I chuckled lightly at this, then realized Trente was completely and utterly correct. My father would kill him. He would drag him off by his sexy braid and first chop it off, then pull out his gun and shoot him. Right in the head, knowing Father. I couldn't let this happen...I liked him too much. My father, I decided at that point, was not allowed to kill my boyfriends...

If there ever were any after Trente, that is. Just one problem...we weren't officially an `item,' seeing as how no one made it official. I waited, eyebrows raised expectantly, for this declaration, but only received a fear-filled silence from the boy, who sat with his eyes wide, mouth agape, and a terrified expression on his face. Sighing, I decided I must take matters into my own hands...

"Trente?" The boy didn't look up, but sat in the same catatonic trance he had been since our perfectly wonderful kiss ended. I rolled my eyes. `How can anyone be that afraid of my father? He hasn't even met him!' "Trente? Hello?" I shook his shoulder, and his head snapped up, seeming as if I had just woken him up.

"Sarah?"

"You can't be that afraid of him. He's just my father. He's the nicest, sweetest, funniest guy I know..." I smiled fondly at him. "Other than you."

Trente still had the look of a deer caught in headlights, but he forced a smile. How I loved that smile... "Although, the fact that you haven't really met any other guys besides your uncle, Wufei, my father and myself doesn't seem to help that compliment, but thank you, anyway. Now, when are we

leaving?"

I rolled my eyes. He was still convinced that he was coming with me...

I decided I had to prove him wrong.

~*~

Finally, after telling him intricate details of how I...I mean, we, planned to leave, I left his room, receiving one more last kiss (not as long as the first, unfortunately), and headed to my own, downstairs. I packed my things, what little I had, and set my alarm so that he would think I was still there in the morning...at least, until he noticed that I hadn't left my room for quite some time, or came down to get me. I sat down, grabbing a book from the shelves against the wall, and set a second alarm, one for 11:00pm, and started reading. A few hours later, finishing the story, I watched the clock. Ten fifty-nine. One minute, and I would be leaving. Making a sweep of my room with my eyes one last time, I put the book back, and waited next to the clock for the alarm. _Beep, beep, be--whack!_

Checking all the locks on the windows, I crawled up into the ventilation shaft in the ceiling of my room, but not before turning off my light and making a form with my pillows that would look like a body in case _someone _decided to sneak in during the night. There was just one problem with that. I wished I could be there when that _someone _decided to sneak in, it would make for a rather interesting and, knowing that _someone _a bit too well, pleasurable experience. Unfortunately, I had a mission to accomplish. And nothing...or, rather, _no one_, gets in the way of my missions.

Going over the floor plan in my mind, I headed towards the living room, certain that if I could make it there I was home free. Checking to see that I had my keys with me, I removed a grate above me and peeked my head out, grinning as I realized my calculations to be correct. I was in the living room. Pulling myself out noiselessly, I carefully replaced the grate for the air conditioning and tiptoed out, shutting the door silently behind me.

Now, this was the hard part. I had to start my car quietly enough to not cause any suspicion inside, especially from Trente, who had a window on the front of the house. I opened the door gently, paranoid that he had heard the sound, then convinced myself he hadn't, and it was only really loud to me because of the empty street, and the fact I was trying to be quiet. Jumping in, I stuck the key in the ignition and waited for any signs from the house.

None.

Good.

I turned the key slightly, still watching his window for a light of some sort, and then pushed it all the way, feeling the motor jump to action beneath me. I shifted it to reverse and pulled down the driveway, smiling as I thought of the hospitality Duo and Hilde had shown me. Leaving their small neighborhood, I headed for the highway, going over the plans Hilde had given me earlier for reaching Trowa's house. His was going to be quite a drive, looking over the map and reading the directions showed me.

I drove all night, then pulled over at a gas station for some breakfast at about 6:00am, locking the doors. When I returned ten minutes later, I placed the donut in the seat next to me and the coffee in the cup holder and started the car, only to find that someone had stowed away and was trying to confiscate my donut from their seat in the back!

I did the only thing I could think of doing. I pulled my gun, screamed like a banshee, and turned around, pointing the barrel straight between the unknown donut-stealer's eyes, which widened immensely and seemed to glow ice blue in the misty morning hours. Looking over the confection attacker, I sighed, putting my gun away, but still my surprise was evident.

"Trente?!" `How could I have not noticed him sitting in the back of my car for so long? I mean, come on, it's been at least seven hours since I got in here...' My thoughts were interrupted by his deep voice asking me a question, but because I wasn't paying attention, I had to ask him to repeat himself.

"So, can I have your donut?" he inquired with his sparkling smile.

I sighed again. `Just like his father.' "Fine, Trente, go ahead." Watching him grin like the cat who got the canary, I remembered that I still hadn't found out why he was in my car. So, I decided to ask. His eyebrows flew up at my question, and he seemed surprised that I had wanted to know what he was doing there.

He smirked and finally answered, after inhaling my donut. "Well, I told you I was going with you. I also told you that I wouldn't miss this chance for the world. So, here I am!"

I nodded, pursing my lips. "What about those plans I told you? Didn't you--"

"You think I would believe that you were actually going to leave that late in the morning to go to Trowa's? I know how long it takes to get there, and it's not trip around the block. And, furthermore, I know that your father prefers to be alone, and seeing as how Mom and Dad say you are exactly like your father, I came to the conclusion that you would rather travel alone than with a hunk like me. Which hurts, really, but at least I thought of that before you left. Oh, good plan though, it had me going for a bit, Sar." All I could do was quirk an eyebrow at his mock arrogance, then turn around and put the key in the ignition. "Sar?"

I turned around and stared at him like he was insane, and he noticed this, mouth going slightly agape and eyes widening as he started to ask me why I was looking at him like that. I cut him off, though, with an exasperated sigh and, "Are you going to make me look like a chauffeur or are you going to come up and sit next to me?" Trente narrowed his eyes, smile hovering about his lips as he stared back at me.

"Well...I think I'll come up and sit next to you, but only because I like the view in front better than in back." He grinned devilishly, eyes lighting up as he saw my mock hurt face, and hopped out of the car, walking leisurely up to the passenger side seat. I rolled my eyes.

`This is certainly going to make my trip more interesting...at least more interesting than it already is...'


	15. "I know all about danger. I am used to w...

Chapter 15

"I know all about danger. I am used to walking the tight rope." -Trowa Barton/Triton Bloom

"Are we there yet?"

I sighed. Yeah, I liked Trente, but...almost nothing could keep me from strangling him as he sat next to me, twirling his braid around his fingers and hanging his feet out the window as I drove down the road, trying to pay attention to the houses we were passing as I looked for a sign. "For the fourth time, Trente, NO, we are not. Now, if you would maybe help, seeing as how you've been to his house before, it wouldn't take so--"

But I never got to end that sentence. Looking forward, as I should have been, I caught a glimpse of the truck hurtling towards me, and crashing into my front bumper. Luckily I had made Trente put his seatbelt on, otherwise he would have definitely gone through the windshield at the rate we hit. I, also lucky, had my seatbelt on, and that thankfully absorbed the shock as I lunged forward, hands covering my head. Both air bags deployed, and I'm sure that's what saved Trente, seeing as how he had his feet out the window. If that airbag hadn't gone...

I shudder to think of the thought. The brand new car my uncle had given me seemed to be swallowed by the humongous shipping truck resting on top of its hood, cracking and crunching in several places. I hit my head on the ceiling of the car in the impact, and just before I passed out I remember asking Trente if he was okay, and receiving the most ridiculous answer I could have gotten in that situation.

"I'm Peachy Keen, Sar, how about you?"

"I'm...not so hot, but I'll make it."

"Okey-dokey!"

~*~

I woke to Trente standing over the hospital gurney I was currently lying on, joking with the nurses about how white really wasn't my color. "Perhaps a pale green or blue, but definitely not white. And keep her away from pink, whatever you do, or she'll be out to get you. You know, now that I think of it, do you have any black? Let's just eliminate any further problems and get her into a-- Why, Sar, you're up!"

I tried to reach up to my head, which had started throbbing the second I opened my eyes, but found it was restrained by a nylon strap wrapping all the way around me, securing me to the bed. "Why am I strapped down?"

Trente leaned in close to me, dismissing the nurses, and got an odd look on his face. "You know, I'm really not sure. It's the damnedest thing...when they people showed up in the ambulance...it didn't look like an ambulance at all. It was really just a white van, no markings. They put us in the back with one guy who wasn't wearing scrubs or anything like that, but he had what looked like doctor items and accessories...then they brought us here. I haven't seen any other patients since we've been here, Sar. I'm very suspicious..."

My mind raced, going back over everything Trente had told me. Unmarked van, no indication of being medical, no other patients...obviously, we weren't in a real hospital. I looked around the room nonchalantly for cameras, making small talk with Trente as I did so. Three cameras, and, surprisingly, in a very strategic setup. One above the door, one in the corner of the wall the door was on, to the left, and one almost completely across from the door, but to the left, facing the area behind where the door opened. I guessed, seeing how these cameras were placed, they were not only visual, but audio, infrared, and wire frame, when turned to the right settings.

Whoever was keeping us "safe" was definitely doing a good job of it. They obviously weren't some billionaire broker who bought all the gadgets and expected to do a good job. This person has experience in spying or keeping surveillance on people...

The only question was this: Why did this person want Trente and myself? I couldn't see anyone not liking Trente, and I hadn't been out of my own home for more than seven days, which is really not enough time to either become known or make enemies. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and decided that first I needed to focus on getting out of my restraints without letting the person behind the camera lens know, or be able to respond quickly enough to catch Trente and I as we exited the building rather hastily and contacted first his parents, then my uncle, as I would want to at least get his car back to him, despite it's crunched hood.

Continuing to talk calmly, and keeping my brain waves and heart beat down, I tugged on my wrists, testing the strength of the restraints. Someone must have obviously anticipated my physical strength, as the straps seemed not able to move.

At all. Keeping my voice low, I went to my next plan of action.

"Trente? Were you able to see the way we came in?" Watching him shake his head, my hopes momentarily fell. "You didn't? But weren't you conscious?" Again, he shook his head. "How long have we been here?"

He got the strange look from before, which caused my heart beat to raise slightly, but I managed to control it, and answered. "Well, remember how the sun was setting on the way to Trowa's house?"

My mind traveled back to the few minutes before the crash. I nodded, frowning and wondering where he was going with this.

"My watch says it's noon-ish...three days later."

"Three days?!"

"Yeah. I woke up today at about ten, and demanded to see you. So they brought me here, after giving me some pills `for pain' they said, and I've been waiting for you to wake up since. My question is this: Why haven't they contacted mine and your parents? Why aren't they here? I was carrying identification, weren't you?"

As I started to nod, my thoughts traveled through the list of items I was carrying at the time of the crash. Money, Driver's License, Social Security card, and my gun. "My gun!" I exclaimed a bit loud for my tastes of keeping everything on the down low. Glancing quickly towards the cameras, I listened for footsteps down the hall, but heard none. Smiling ever-so-slightly, I looked towards Trente again, and keeping my voice low, asked him, "Are my things in here?" His gaze swept throughout the room, and he shook his head no. Time for my second question. "Am I wearing my original..." I paused, blushing at the reminder of who I was asking this. "My original bra?" His high cheekbones flushed as my lips formed this last word, and he looked away, facing the door. "Now, Trente, this...this is no time to be embarrassed. Am I?" 

He bit his lip, turned back to me, and shrugged. "I don't know, Sarah."

Now comes the hard part. "We have to find out. I need you to...uh...lift up my shirt and tell me what color the one I'm wearing is. If it's my original bra, we're in luck, because it means that they didn't feel comfortable with stripping me fully, or checking for weapons."

The boy's eyebrows shot up so high I thought they'd hit the ceiling fan. "Weapons? In your..." Again he blushed deeply, at which I laughed. "In there?" He nodded towards my chest area, pointing with his chin, and smiling sheepishly.

"Well, where else would you keep `em? In a holster where everyone can find them? Sorry, I've been trained all too well to make that mistake again..."

My image based mind flashed to the first and only time I had made this mistake, causing me to smile. That was such a long time ago...

__

I came walking up to the back door with my father, silent as usual. Feeling very confident as I had just passed the marksmanship test he had prepared with flying colors, I grinned broadly, looking up him.

My father.

I believed he could do anything he had ever wanted to...

Against all odds...

My hero. 

No pun intended.

We walked up to the door, passing the basket I usually ignored that had a sign over it saying, "No weapons past this point. Drop all guns, knives, ammo, mace, and explosives into this basket to be picked up later. Thanks-Mom." and kept heading forward, me thinking nothing of it.

My mother greeted us at the door with a smile, and hug for me, as she started searching us. It was a known rule that there would be no weapons inside the house whatsoever. Now, both me and my father, and perhaps even my mother, knew there were weapons hidden all over in that house, but hidden so well that if the FBI decided to do a search, they wouldn't find a single one. That was a policy Father taught me about weapons: If you have one, you better hide it well. Something I neglected to do that day at lunch...

I looked up at my father lovingly, only to find his face in a frown. Frowning as well was my mother, who stood before me with a gun resting in her open hand. My eyes flew wide as I stared at the small firearm resting there, trigger covered in blue electrical tape. That was my gun.

Stuttering, I reached for it as I tried to explain why I had it with me to my mother, but using my eyes to explain why I had it easy to find in the first place to my father, who pursed his lips and glanced away as the scolding began.

"Sarah Peacecraft Yuy! I can't believe you! I thought our rule about guns in the house was made clear, but obviously, it wasn't! Do you know who is at fault here?"

I opened and closed my mouth a number of times, trying to think of the answer. "Me?" I asked sheepishly, pointing to my chest.

Surprisingly, my mother shook her head. "No, Sarah. It's your FATHER'S fault. He should have known you had a gun with you before letting you get near to the house!" Turning to him, she sighed. "Really, Heero...I'm disappointed in you..."

Father's eyes dance in shock at this accusation, and then anger as he listened to this, staring at Mother while the corners of her lips upturned slightly, watching him go through these emotion changes.

__

I stood between them, looking first from Father to Mother, then Mother to Father, as I watched the sparks fly. Stepping back, I reached up and took my gun, placing it in the basket, and went inside while they stood on the porch, staring at each other.

Afterwards, while with my father, I asked him a question that I have always remembered the answer to. "Father? Where should I keep my gun so no one finds it?"

His eyebrows quirked slightly, then he smiled slightly, cocking his head. "Where no one will ever find it?" I nodded, eager to learn more from him. "In a place where no one would think of looking, Sarah. The most unobvious place you can think of. That's where I keep mine. And that is where you should keep yours."

Trente stared at me, eyebrows raised still, as he watched my face go blank during this flashback. "Uh, Sar? Are you awake?"

I shook my head, blinking furiously, and nodded. "Yes, Trente. Now, anyway, I need you to look, because if my bra is there..." I grinned. "We can get out of this place."

The boy sitting before me shook his head, lifting his eyes to the ceiling, and muttered under his breath, "I don't see how this will help us get out, but..." while reaching up to lift my shirt end up. Luckily for us, it wasn't strapped down as my arms and body was, but rather, over the straps, which helped this situation immensely. Closing his eyes, he got down closer to my body and sighed, his breath tickling my stomach. I giggled quietly, at which he glared at me, and I stated my defense.

"I'm sorry, but your breath is tickling my stomach!" He rolled his eyes and prepared to look again, breathing deeply. Taking a quick peek, he frowned, dropped the edge of my shirt, and looked at me curiously.

"Great, it is still there!" I announced, smiling at him. Still, I received the same odd look from him. "Nani, Trente?" I asked him, voice filled with laughter at his expression.

"Where did you find such...such an interesting bra, Sarah? I've never seen one with that sort of...design..."

I chuckled softly to myself, watching his face fill even more with confusion. "Well, I should hope you haven't seen a bra ever before, except in stores...you're too young! And, what...you haven't seen one with wilting, black daisies on it before?"

He shook his head, frowning slightly, and then sighed. "I don't know, you're just full of surprises to me..." Trente smiled. "So, how are we going to get out since you are wearing your special black daisy bra?"

My mood stiffened, along with my face, as I thought up our escape route...

"Well, I can tell you this much...it's not going to be easy."


	16. "Hey, don't worry! We've gotten pretty g...

Chapter 16 Prologue

"Hey, don't worry! We've gotten pretty good at these losing battles!" -Duo Maxwell

My mind flew through the different possibilities and new opportunities that were now open to myself and Trente, knowing we had a gun with us. Well, I knew, anyway...Trente was a bit in the dark as to the association with me having my personal bra on and our escape from the prison with no bars...

No visible bars, that is.

First of all, I knew that we had to get my gun out its hidden holster without our nameless captor knowing, which proved to be a difficult task. Not having any means of computer usage eliminated a possible hack job, where I could disable the cameras momentarily or possibly feed a loop through them, buying us time, which caused my hopes to sink. I hadn't done a hack job in years, and they were my favorite things to do...

Other than shoot a gun, of course.

As I thought more and more about my nonexistent hack job, the realization hit me: even if we could attempt one, by looking at the evidence of surveillance, I don't think we would succeed. Something just told me that we wouldn't be able to complete it because the person running this whole kidnapping business would have to make sure his system was well guarded.

And, seeing as how this person seemed to know that it was me he was "catching," he probably had very good defense systems against any and all attacks or attempts to escape I made.

I seemed out of luck. This person...whoever it was...seemed to know me well enough to know the exact limits of what I was capable of. They anticipated every move with the patience and brilliance of a chess player...

My mind wandered to Mr. Chang Wufei, how he had beaten me, and I smirked. Even in being beaten by him, I still managed to win, despite his obvious knowledge of my playing skills through my father.

He had one disadvantage, this person who had taken Trente and myself from civilization. He may have had calculated every possible action I might take, my physical and emotional strengths, and my intelligence, but...

He still didn't have me, in person, working for him and telling him exactly every single thought I had.

He still didn't have me.

And I've been known to be very unpredictable quite a bit in my lifetime...

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

A/Ns: I know, this is short, but it's only a prologue for the next chapter! Deal! I wrote this, and was told by the two people whose opinion's I value higher than my own sometimes that I should make this into a subchapter, some sort of a prologue...and, anyway...this adds to the suspense, doesn't it? ~.ó


	17. "If you're joking, that's cruel; but if ...

Chapter 16

"If you're joking, that's cruel; but if you're being sarcastic, that's even worse!" -Duo Maxwell

An idea hit me. A wonderfully crazy and probably dangerous one, no doubt, but it was an idea. And we could pull it off, I knew it. We had to. A smile flitted across my cheeks as I glanced to Trente, who was still just sitting there, frown mingling over his features. I sighed, deciding that if I was going to pull this off, I needed to act the part.

"Trente?" The said boy looked up, ice blue eyes sparkling as a confused expression crossed his adorable face.

He sat still a moment, eyebrows meeting and furrowing, and finally answered this call. "Yes, Sar?"

Time to put this plan into action. "I'm hungry."

The perfect mirror of Duo, save for his hair and eye color, raised an eyebrow, perplexed at my most recent request. "Hungry?" Leaning forward, he pursed his lips, looking me straight in the eye. "I thought we were trying to find out how to get outta here, Sar? And now you're...hungry? I'm...to say the least, confused."

"I know. Now, get the nurses in here. I'm hungry." I demanded, adding just the perfect touch of whine to my voice to make it convincing. Now, it was imperative that he find a solid food, so that I may take full advantage of the situation. Still frowning, he stood and reached for the button above my bed for the nurses' assistance, when two came walking in, lovely looking smiles gracing their faces. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as the pair entered, their expressions perfect masks of innocence. My theory of the camera and recording systems was correct, I realized, while acting equally as cordial to the women.

"Would you like something, Miss Yuy?" one of them asked in a sickly sweet tone. This guy sure did find some good actresses, I noted to myself.

`This one's for the Oscar...'

I nodded slowly, swallowing heavily while I gazed to the girls, eyes filling with fake tears. "Why yes, I would, if it wouldn't be too much of a trouble..." The woman shook her head, small smile tugging at her lips. "I've been here for quite some time, as my, ah, friend has informed me..." I nodded to Trente, who still bore a look of confusion, and continued. "And I'm really very...hungry, ma'am. Could I perhaps get something to eat and drink?"

The nurse's head bobbed up and down so quickly I thought for sure it'd fall off, and she started to leave when her companion pulled her aside and began a conversation with her in hushed tones, of which I would only hear bits and pieces.

"What if...a trick?"

"It...she's not that smart..."

"And how do you know that? Master...said...and...no right to undermine...authority."

The woman whom I was talking with nodded with an air of subordination about her and turned back to Trente and myself, an apologetic smile spreading between her cheeks.

"Miss Yuy?"

I glanced up, the most pitiful expression I could muster on my face, and raised my eyebrows at her. "Yes?"

"Ah..." the girl looked to the other nurse, who glared sharply at her and nodded before facing me and smiling. "I'm not exactly sure if, uh, you will be able to digest anything on your own..."

I stared at her, imagining she had told me I didn't have a head but was miraculously still living, so I could look as confused as possible. "Uh...what do you mean, exactly?"

She sighed, seeming as confused as I portrayed, and made her way to the edge of my bed, frowning as she tried to think of a way to explain that her boss didn't trust me and thought that I was going to pull something on them, which is why I couldn't have any food, of course. I resisted the urge to laugh out loud as the nurse took my hand and gazed into my eyes. "Well, dear, the reason is this. When we got you out of the wreckage that was your Uncle's car, your, ah, epidermis was hanging out, and gastric fluid was all over inside you, mixing with the plasma in your stomach, which is not a good thing, let me tell you. So, we had to take some cefuroxime injections and give them to you, starting with your nonteteragenic chromosomes and working our way to your anaphylactic regions, which in turn..."

At this point, I realized that not only did this woman have not a clue as to what the hell she was talking about, but that she was also a complete and utter idiot! One chair short of a dining set, missing the yellow in her color wheel...a whistle head! You wouldn't even hear the ocean if you put her head up to your ear...a mime would envy the silence held inside that tiny skull of hers.

Enough intelligence-impaired persons bashing...if it's one thing I've learned, it's not to argue with an idiot: they just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. So, instead of correcting every ill-used term the so-called nurse decided to grace her vocabulary with, I just sat there, nodding, smiling, and gasping when need be, while the other nurse leaned against the door frame, smirking at my theatrical display of baffling ignorance.

The most amusing part of this whole fiasco was that the nurse who seemed to be in charge (and with good reason, seeing how her companion was the perfect example of a stereo-typical blonde) was completely accurate in her prediction that I was indeed planning something, and much smarter than I appeared to be.

I couldn't let them know that, of course, so I acted as I did whenever Mother would find a grenade in one of my pockets while doing laundry: completely innocent. The blonde bought every word of it, but the other one, the one in charge...she didn't seem at all moved by my theatrics.

A challenge, no doubt, but it wasn't something I couldn't overcome. Continuing with my original plan, I pleaded with the other nurse, trying to show her how truly "hungry" I was. Trente even added in short comments to help my pleas, and finally, I saw the woman's blue eyes falter. Pursing her lips, she held up a finger for silence.

"I'll check with...the...ah...doctor, Miss Yuy. Maybe you've healed enough to have a little food. But, I'm not guaranteeing anything, though, so don't be getting your hopes up, all right?" I nodded enthusiastically, and with a glance to one of the cameras she left. I turned to the blonde, who was still sitting on my bed, but checking out Trente rather indiscreetly as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. Terrified he would respond, I looked his way and noticed that he was staring at me. Not her...me. My heart leapt, and then my brain remembered how to think and wondered, "Why is he staring at me?"

I turned as much as I could towards him and stared right back, quirking a brow while I awaited response.

A few moments later he shook his head, blinking furiously, as if he had just come out of shock. "What?" I asked, not bothering to hid the concern in my voice. "What is it?"

He smiled and placed a hand on my still restrained arm. "You know, Sarah..." Leaning in close, I saw a glint in Trente's eyes that could only be described as either pure passion, or pure mischief. Knowing him, probably both. "You really are rather beautiful...I guess I was too shy to really analyze your features before, but now I know you won't deck me if I do, so...I am. And you're gorgeous."

I had to laugh at the thought of me punching Trente because he was looking at me, but by the time he got to the end of this statement, I'm sure I turned at least ten shades of red, judging by his reaction of quiet, throaty chuckling close to my ear. I closed my eyes, reveling in the feeling of him being so close, and a new sound invaded my ears.

Squeaking wheels. Squeaking, rolling wheels coming closer and closer to my room from the left. I searched my memory...which way had the nurse turned when she left? Mentally cursing myself for not noticing or making a point to watch, I opened my eyes and glanced towards the door, relieved that my plan, so far, had worked.

The red-haired nurse from before pushed in a small trolley laden with different types of food...most of them soft of easy to chew, but...

There was a bowl that had chopped-up pieces of melons randomly assorted and piled into it in the middle of the top shelf. My mouth watered while I stared at the food, and suddenly I realized that my stomach hurt and was emitting low growls, which Trente seemed to find very funny, Kami knows why.

Giving him a sharp glance, I attempted to point at the bowl, and then my mind clicked back into action and I remembered the real reason I wanted food. Finding my vocal chords, I cleared my throat and said, "Melons...?" while looking at the boss nurse. She raised both her eyebrows, surprised, and Trente turned to me, frown overcoming his earlier smirk.

"Melons? Are you sure you can eat those, Sar?" I did the only thing those damn restraints allowed me to. I nodded. He glanced to the nurse, forwarding my nod to her, and then asked quietly, "How is she supposed to eat if she's tied down?"

My mind flew. This was not expected, Trente asking this. What if they untied me? I would lose any element of surprise I had with my earlier plan, prolonging our stay as hostages over this unknown person who seemed to know me better than myself.

A thought crossed my mind. `What if this person is...Fa--'

"Oh, don't worry, the bed tilts up and we or you can feed her, Mr. Maxwell."

Trente nodded approval and a light sigh escaped my lips, though it sounded like a raspy hiss , as my throat was extremely dry. I felt the movement of the mechanical bed as I was raised into a semi-sitting position, at a comfortable angle, surprisingly. I didn't expect to be comfortable in any way until I got out of this fake hospital, which came next, I hoped.

Trente took the bowl from the tray and grasped a fork between his right thumb and forefinger, watching and smiling towards me the whole time. "Which type, Sarah? Honeydew, cantaloupe, or watermelon?"

Slightly taken aback at this question as I had previously been actively engaged in admiring all of Trente's features, i nodded at him. "Uh huh..." I muttered, smiling up at him.

Duo's son chuckled softly and chose a green honeydew piece, which, surprisingly, was my favorite of the three. Holding it out in front of me, he quirked a brow and waited for my approval, of which I did not hesitate to give. The boy smirked and brought the piece closer to my mouth, seeming for all the world like he was enjoying this all too much. "Open wide!" he cooed, and at that exact moment my memory flashed to only a few minutes before when I had thought hitting Trente was funny...

Suddenly that sound so very enticing.

Deciding I was going to savor most of the fruit before executing the most important part of my plan, I ate what was given to me happily, flashing grins to the nurses and Trente whenever possible, to assure them that I was "digesting" everything well.

Noticing the bowl was almost empty, I went back over the plan quickly in my mind one last time, and opened my mouth for the last piece of cantaloupe, when...

"Oh my Kami! She's choking!" Trente yelled, jumping up and dropping the fork he had been feeding me with into my lap. The curly, red-haired nurse came running forward as I hacked, pulling up a walkie-talkie as she did so, and speaking frantically into it. The blonde...she was more concerned in the dish of Jell-O on the cart than my current dance with death, so she will be forgotten for the time being. "Do something!" Trente shrieked at the head nurse, patting me on the arm as he couldn't get to my back, considering how tightly I was secured. The nurse glanced to the camera over the door, as if questioning it, and nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to take these restraints off her so we can get the food piece dislodged." She did so, and a moment later Trente had his arms wrapped around me from behind, and seemed to be hugging all the air out of me. I spat out the piece of orange goop a moment later, and sat on the bed, panting to catch my breath. 

Regaining my composure, I turned to face the blue eyed nurse.

"Put your hands up. Hand your earpiece, walkie-talkie, and any weapons you have to Mr. Maxwell, and then stand up against the wall. Do it!"

As I said before...

He still didn't have me.

And I've been known to be unpredictable quite a bit in my lifetime...


	18. "I don't have a name. Call me No Name if...

Chapter 17

"I don't have a name. Call me No Name if you like." -Trowa Barton

The two nurses, to say the least, looked bewildered as they stared down the barrel of my gun aimed between their eyes. Trente on the other hand...

"Wowee! So that's what you meant when you said we had an escape plan! Wonderful! So, what next?"

What next indeed. In my haste to get out of my bonds, I had completely forgotten to make a plan of how we planned to escape. Keeping an eye on our current hostages, I asked, "Well, what do you think?" to Trente, who shrugged nonchalantly and plopped down on my bed, grabbing the bowl of Jell-O the blonde nurse had been eyeing earlier.

Suddenly, I remembered that there were cameras in my room, and the person in charge of my kidnapping probably had guards on their way to come stop the commotion we were making. Therefore, we should get as far away from here as we could. Looking the red-head in the eye, I pursed my lips and asked, "What is your name?"

Surprisingly, she broke out in laughter, blue eyes dancing as her curly hair bobbed up and down along her slender neck. "My name? I don't think that really matters, does it?" At this, Trente stood and strode over to her, a questioning glance shot to me. I nodded and watched as he took her arm and held it behind her back, twisting it slightly.

"I really hate doing this...I'm sorry. Tell her your name." he stated calmly, face in a frown while he did so. I smiled apologetically at him before facing the false nurse and quirking my eyebrows at her, awaiting an answer.

She sighed, looking extremely bored, and tilted her head to the side. "You know, Trente, you've gotten a lot bigger since the last time I saw you. I'm not surprised you don't remember me." The boy's eyes grew wide at this statement, but he neither tightened nor loosened his grip on the woman as confusion spread quickly across his features.

I glared at the woman. "What is your name? How do you know Trente?"

Another sigh escaped her lips, and I about lost my patience when she opened her mouth again and stated quietly, "My name is Catherine Bloom."

Trente gasped and immediately let go of her, cheeks red while he felt ashamed for touching her. "I'm sorry, Cathy, I didn't--"

"Don't worry about it." she interrupted, arms crossing in front of her. "You look just like your father...so cute." She winked to me and I felt my cheeks flush until my conscious self kicked in, reprimanding me in the way my father did so many times.

`Do NOT let your guard down!'

Mentally slapping myself, I glanced to the blonde, who looked frozen in shock. "What is your name?"

She opened and closed her mouth several times, resembling a fish, before answering. "Rachael."

Summoning Trente, I told them to face opposite walls and held a whispered conference with the boy. "Who is Catherine Bloom?" was my first question as I raised an eyebrow slowly. 

"Triton Bloom's sister.", came the reply.

I rubbed my temples, eyes closed, and asked, "Well, who is Triton Bloom?"

"That is Trowa Barton's real name."

The reality of this statement hit me like a tidal wave. Was Trowa...Triton behind our kidnapping? Nodding, I turned back to the women and beckoned them close. "Who is the one who ordered for my capture?" I received silence from both, at which I sighed heavily and asked, "You do know the way out, don't you?" Rachael nodded while Catherine elbowed her hard in the ribs. This was definitely going to take some doing if I wanted them to answer me truthfully. We didn't have that much time left, either. "Lying won't get you anywhere." I stated, placing my free hand on my hip and continuing to hold the gun I had hidden deftly in my bra at them.

Again, Catherine laughed. "No, you've got that wrong, dear girl. Us lying won't get _you_ anywhere." 

Trente obviously knew this to be true, as he looked to Cathy pleadingly and said, "Please, Cathy?" It seemed for a moment that Trowa's sister was going to give in while staring at his best imitation of a puppy, but then at the last second she shook her head furiously, red curls bouncing all around her face.

"No, Trente. I can't."

Surprisingly, Rachael, the blonde, spoke. "Aw, come on, Cathy! They're just kids! What could Tro--" As cliche as this sounds, everything seemed to happen at once as Catherine leapt onto Rachael, and about fifteen men dressed in black body suits came hurtling through the door while Trente jumped over me, shielding me from any and all harm that could possibly come hurtling our way.

The men bypassed the two of us and threw themselves into the fray between Rachael and Catherine, mistaking one of them for me. Taking the confusion as an opportunity for Trente and I to exit stage left, we did, bursting into the hallway as if we had been spat from the door in an act of contempt. 

Not caring which direction we went, I grabbed his hand and ran as far away from that room as we could, turning corners like madmen at death-defying speeds until finally we reached a hallway with only one door, at the very end. Pausing a moment, I glanced to Trente, who seemed only slightly out of breath but caught up in the exhilaration of the moment. He shrugged, light smile playing over his lips. I took it for a `yes' and galloped forward, hand still clutching his tightly as we raced down the hallway, cackling with glee and excitement, and most of all, fear of the unknown.

We knew there could be anything on the other side of that door, but did we care?

Hell no.

I reached for the knob, twisted, and pulled. Erupting into the room, I barely took notice of my surroundings as I drug Trente with me into the perpetual gloom on the other side of the door.

All of our laughter, our excitement, died instantaneously as we heard the door close quietly behind us, leaving us in a completely dark room, save for the three computer screens that sat on a desk at the far wall, flowing brightly as they showed three different angles of what was happening in one of the `hospital' rooms.

My hospital room.

Fifteen black clad men and two women resembling nurses occupied the room, the women looking quite malicious as they glared at the circle of men grouped around the bed I had been sleeping in only half an hour earlier...

Then, the sound came, clear as crystal, through hidden speakers in the shadowy room.

"We're sorry, Miss Bloom, we didn't know it was you. Please accept our humblest apologies, it was an honest mistake."

"You too, Miss Rachael...we would never do anything to harm the two of you wonderful ladies..."

The men were groveling, apologizing, to these fake health-care workers. It sickened me the way they pleaded, begged to be forgiven. 

Finally, when my eyes adjusted to the inky air of the room, I chanced to glance around, and noticed silhouettes of many unknown items grouped around the desk with the computers. An object I did recognize, however, was a chair in front of the desk, rocking ever so slightly back and forth as if there was a breeze playing with the hinge allowing it to move. As my pupil-widened eyes roved around the room, I came to the conclusion that other than Trente and myself, there was nobody in the room. I strained my ears, listening past the sounds of Trente's and mine's breathing, past the nauseating way the men begged, and couldn't hear a sound. No breathing of a third person, no movement. Nothing.

At least not until he spoke.

"You made it. How very nice of you to drop in, Miss Yuy, and you too, Mr. Maxwell. Tea?" A single, slender hand seemed to grow out of the side of the chair, and with it came a silver platter and tea set, complete with two porcelain tea cups, steam billowing upward into the black. In my mind, I was already analyzing the voice, trying to determine whether I had heard it before or not. It sounded so familiar, yet...distant. Like an old memory you can't quite recall all of anymore because it hasn't dwelled in your thoughts as numerously as it should have to be remembered. The soft, comforting voice arose from the ebony depths again, and immediately I was calmed, soothed by its melody of peacefulness.

"Have a seat, please. I hate talking when I can't see the person on the receiving end properly."

I heard Trente sigh, and was disturbed at how ungraceful it sounded, how jagged it was to the flow of the unknown speaker's voice. I took a small step forward, and felt Trente's hand on my arm, stopping me, warning me. I snapped out of my previous daze and stepped back to where I had been standing while interlacing my fingers with Trente's and asking the back of the chair loudly, "Who are you?"

A soft chuckle rose into the air above our heads, dancing through my ears until finally dying away as it was speared by the dismal space around us, edges seeming to only get closer as time wore on, sharp fingers reaching out as if to snatch us from the spot, never to be seen by human eyes again. "You know who I am; don't act so ignorant. You sure have gotten big, Sarah." Suddenly, the chair whipped around, and I found myself imprisoned in the gaze of a single jade eye.

All at once I knew it to be Trowa Barton, also known as Triton Bloom. Catherine's brother. The third Gundam pilot. "Hello, Trowa."

He seemed surprised by this greeting, but the moment of shock was quickly overcome by another impassive stare. "You can't remember who I am. No, you were too little then. You don't know me, Sarah."

I shook my head. No, that wasn't true. I did know him. Bu how? I decided to let him do the talking, although I sensed he wouldn't say much. "I do know you, Trowa. What I don't know is how I know you. It would be very kind of you to explain, though."

Again, that laugh. That deep, throaty chuckle.

"I'm your godfather, Sarah."

* * *

A/Ns: Hmm...

Haven't done an author note for this story in a while, but this chapter deserves it, I think. Oy, my beta said that I had good descriptions...yah, I believe her (somewhat...^-^) but I want to know what you guys think! Hn...plot twists galore, ne? I promised that there were more coming...and more yet, even though I don't even know what they are yet! *grins* Anyhooters, I hope you liked this chapter, it's one of my favorites. Specially the nurses...specially the blonde one...^-^ She's hilarious! So review or I'll have to come after you with my katana! *sickly sweet grin*


	19. "I am a nameless soldier who has been in...

Chapter 18

"I am a nameless soldier who has been in the battlefield for as long as I can remember..." -Trowa Barton/Triton Bloom

I took a step back, blinking profusely. "My...what? What the hell...who do you think you are?" I felt my face contort into a frown, and my eyes harden. Trente faced me, eyebrows raised, and cleared his throat, expecting an explanation. I glared at him, then turned my eyes back to stare at Trowa, who still sat in his chair, palms kissing while tapping his index fingers together slowly.

"Trowa Barton is my name."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're not Trowa."

His fingers stopped moving. "Yes, I am."

"No, you aren't."

Trente moved between us, and leaned close to me, almost touching his nose to mine. "What has gotten into you?" he asked, blue eyes shining. Yet this was not a time that I would react to his charming ways, I knew it. I couldn't afford to right now, not in this situation. `I'll deal with him later.' I saw the shadow behind Trente move and knew Trowa to be standing now, and immediately my thoughts ran wild. What would he do? Was he angry with me? How would I defend myself, should he try something?

"Sarah."

It was more of a statement than a question, yet I still found myself answering out of ground-in years of etiquette teaching. "Yes?"

He sighed, and for a moment sounded exhausted. I moved from behind Trente, who protested profusely, to face the man standing a few feet in front of me. "What..." he paused, as if seeming to have an inner conflict that he was trying to resolve. I quirked a brow and stared at him, eyes burning as the glow of the computer screens behind him shined brightly, automatically constricting my pupils. He shook his head at himself, then continued abruptly. "Why do you not believe me to be Trowa?"

I opened my mouth, sure I had a response, but for some reason my brain seemed to not connect, and I just stood there dumbfounded with my chin hanging down. Trowa chuckled at my inability to respond eloquently immediately, and I soon felt my neck prickling as the anger drove itself through my veins. I was not normally one to lose my temper in those days, however something about Trowa just drove me off the edge, pushed me over the cliff. For some odd reason, I could not stand him. It seemed anything he did, any expression that crossed his features, caused my blood to boil. 

Trente, who had been silent this whole time, decided that perhaps our meeting was not going as well as hoped, and exclaimed enthusiastically, "Well, now, isn't this great? You've finally met Trowa, and he's your godfather!" I stole my gaze from Trowa and swung it around to Trente, amazed that he could be so inconsiderate at a time like this. His ocean-colored eyes glittered as I glared at him, trying to at least look annoyed at him, but found that I could not stay mad at such a cute boy. So, instead, I turned back to Trowa, and felt the blood rush to my face again as my stomach began to churn.

"Yes, this is...most excellent. Sarah, I have a place for both you and Trente to stay, separate rooms, of course..." I frowned at this attempt at a joke, and looked away, rolling my eyes while he continued. "And you will find changes of clothes in both your sizes there, as I know you have both been...well...contained for the past few days. I expect you at supper; Rachael will show you the way. She will come to get you both at 7:00pm. Until then, please, clean yourselves up and rest." He raised his eyebrows for a moment, silently asking if we had any questions. When we didn't respond he turned to leave, grabbing a briefcase that suddenly materialized at the side of his swivel chair. I lunged forward just as he reached for the handle of the door and grasped his arm, twirling him on the spot and bringing myself inches away from his nose. His demeanor never changed, nor his expression as he stared down at me, single jade eye sparkling with amusement at my antics. "Can I help you?"

I snarled and threw his arm from me, sweeping past him into the brightly lit fluorescent hallway as I headed off to find Rachael and my room, so I could brood for a few hours over the recent events. I heard Trente padding after me but didn't bother to slow down; he could find his own room. I rounded a corner and smacked right up against the blonde nurse I had been looking for, and glared vehemently at her until she uttered a, "Right this way, Miss Sarah..." and took me off down a different hallway that suddenly changed into what looked like a house and not a hospital. Opening a door, she stepped aside and motioned for me to enter, which I did gladly, energetically vaulting myself onto the bed. I heard the muffled close of the door and laid on my stomach, burying my face into one of the pillows so I could begin my premeditated `brooding.' 

My thoughts traveled off to a distant place, something hidden in the depths of my memories, tucked away for years on end. I was sitting on the steps of the house I had grown up in, head buried in my hands as I cried my eyes out, drenching my large black t-shirt with homemade, salty drops of emotion. A half-loaded gun sat on the wooden step next to me, pointing at the wall, and a bullet shell lay on the step below it, rocking back and forth as the breeze pushing through the window screens played `see-saw' with it. The only noise in the house was my sobs, which echoed off all of the wooden paneling my father had installed years before at the bizarre request of my pregnant mother. I mimicked the bullet shell, swaying back and forth to comfort myself as I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face into them. 

"I'm..." I choked out, coughing on my own saliva. "I'm so..." A hand rested gently on my back, rubbing it in a mechanical, uncomfortable way. I twitched my shoulder blades, causing the limb to withdraw quickly, leaving an icy rush of air behind it which only made me cry harder. How could he be so cold sometimes? I never understood it, and at that time I felt I never would. I couldn't. I wasn't like him, I was not like him! Mother was wrong when she uttered that phrase, that phrase that at times made me proud to be alive, and at others it made me cringe. 

"You're so much like your father." she always said. I knew it to be incorrect, wrong. I was not like him...I wasn't. I loved him so much, yet he didn't love me back. There was my proof, right there...I loved someone other than myself, however for some reason he didn't. He was so different from me he not only did not care for others, he did not care for himself, several times putting himself on the line when it was not called for. I hated him for it, I hated him for not caring for us. He...

"Sarah." Again, that cold, uncaring voice. How I hated it. "Stop." He thought he could command me like this? He thought that he could tell me to stop feeling what I was feeling, that he could tell me to stop caring? I inhaled deeply, sniffling loudly, and wiped my face with the front of my shirt. Then slowly, dramatically, I turned to look at him, mouth upturning automatically, on reflex. 

All the while, my subconscious quietly muttered, `I hate him...I hate him...I hate him...'

"Stop what?" I asked, amazed at the coldness with which I did. 

He seemed taken aback for a moment, eyes widening slightly in surprise, but they narrowed back to their normal half-closed look and he glared back at me with the same ferocity with which I was sure I seemed to be turning on him. "Stop this nonsense." 

I was sure my chin must have hit the floor, yet I heard no resounding thunk as this statement echoed in my ears. `Nonsense? How dare he! Nonse--'

"Yes, I said nonsense. Stop. There is no reason for it." His dark blue eyes burned intensely, and I felt my skin crawl as I stared into those azure depths, searching for the answers to my questions, yet returning empty-handed. "Pick up your gun, we are trying again."

Finally, I was furious enough to act on my emotions. "No! What the hell do you think you're doing? What is wrong with you?" My anger only increased as I saw the amusement attach to his features as he watched me, at six and a half years old, stomping my foot on the wooden floor and throwing a temper-tantrum, all the while holding a loaded gun at my side. He seemed the least concerned with the weapon I held, leaning casually up against the banister and crossing his ankles, then bringing up his hand to his face to inspect the dirt covered nails, trying to be as nonchalant as he possibly could. I would have laughed at the picture he made had I not been so furious with him; would have laughed at how unused to blasé actions he was, so that when he was trying to be careless it looked rehearsed and stiff. I know now that that is what really showed how clueless he was in the way of social etiquette, and how much help he needed from both my mother and myself especially, as he was not knowledgeable about the care of children and their actions either. 

He looked up some moments later, eyes darting through his unruly bangs of dark brown hair, and raised his eyebrows a fraction of an inch, which meant he was waiting for some kind of addition to my outburst before he responded. My mouth opened and closed repeatedly as I tried to think of something to add that would demand his reply, yet I could think of nothing. Finally, I blurted out, "You're so confusing sometimes, I just don't know what to do with myself!" 

I expected him to laugh, to start in low with that deep, throaty chuckle I heard every so often when he read the newspaper's most recent articles about the state of the government, and then for his expression to broaden, finally overcoming the silence surrounding us. That's what I expected, however...my father always taught me to expect the unexpected. He did not laugh, did not crack a grin, as I thought he would at my silly outburst. Instead, he sighed, uncrossed his ankles, and walked forward slowly across the top of the step until he was even with me, eyes never leaving mine for an instant. His mouth pulled down into a droll expression of indecisiveness as he thought of an explanation, yet he seemed to come up with nothing. All he said was this, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be."

I was dumbstruck. Firstly, he had apologized, and secondly...he didn't mean to be? "You don't...mean to be?" I pondered over this, forgetting my temporary bout of anger, until finally it struck me that this was not the answer or excuse I had been wanting. "You don't mean to be...but you are." He nodded slowly, eyes softening, and I felt myself smirk. "Why?"

He shrugged. For once, I had asked my father a question he did not have the answer to. He did not know why he acted the way he did, did not know the reason. Suddenly, the thought of my father, Heero Yuy--the man who I had feared, respected, and loved all at the same time--clueless...well, it made me burst with laughter. I couldn't believe it. Father was clueless. And the size his eyes grew when witnessing my guffaws added to the effect even more, as eventually I had to sit down on the step and hold my sides for fear of laughing so hard I would fall down the stairs. 

"Sarah?"

I shook myself awake, sitting up abruptly on the cushiony mattress and facing the door, which was shaking slightly with the knocks being rained upon the dark mahogany wood. Blinking profusely, I glanced to the mirror on the vanity beside the large bed I had been napping on and smoothed my hair down, then called quietly, "Come in." A tuxedo clad Trente answered my request, stepping awkwardly into the room and stiffening the second he saw me reclining on a piece of furniture that only suggested naughty doings. I realized this and jumped quickly up, sniffing loudly and strutting over to the closet as if nothing had happened. He cleared his throat and followed slowly, seemingly amazed with the carpet.

"Ah...are you ready yet?" I turned to face him and saw his eyes roam down my body, which was still covered in the same clothes I had been wearing earlier, as I had fallen asleep and not set an alarm to make sure I had enough time to shower and change. I was not aware that my face could get redder than it was a few moments earlier, yet this realization of such immediate exhaustion that prevented me from even cleansing myself caused a reaction unlike any other. A swift check in the mirror on the door inside the closet confirmed my accusations, at which I tried to hide behind some dresses I hastily pulled off of hangars in random areas of the walk-in. The door I had been shielding myself with was drawn back by Trente's hand, and the adorable boy stood in its place, chuckling quietly as he continued his assault with his eyes over my being. "It's fine, I was pretty sure that you would take a nap first, so I took the liberty of coming by early to get you in case you hadn't gotten dressed yet so that you would have time. It's only 5:30, we still have an hour and a half until Trowa expects us at supper." I must have sighed with relief louder than I thought, for Trente burst out laughing at my not being prepared and strode slowly over to the door, bowing on his way out. "I'll see you in a while, Sarah."

I was still concealed by the closet when I heard the door shut almost silently, causing me to collapse in a nearby chair. Tossing the dresses I had grabbed onto the floor, I held my head in my hands and sighed, until being practically thrown out of my seat with startled surprise when the door opened abruptly and Trente leaned his head in, grin quite apparent on his cheeks. "Oh, by the way...this is for you." And with the toss of a rose, he left, eyes flashing in amusement as he saw the look on my face. The blossom landed neatly on the floor next to my feet, and a note was attached to it.

__

Sarah,

Wear your red dress, it's a great color on you.

Trowa.

My eyelids slid shut after I finished reading this, and I felt the corners of my mouth tighten as I crumpled the note up swiftly, then dropped it onto the floral carpeting gracing the floor. `He dared to tell me...what to wear? Some man I only know by picture, who thinks he's my godfather...and he's telling me what to wear?'

My calmer conscious debated this, coming up with a sensible explanation. `You are his guest, anyway, and he is providing you with lodging, food, and supplies, along with clothing...beggars can't be choosers, you know.'

I rolled my eyes. How stupid. Trowa was deciding what I was to wear to dinner...a man! Again, my conscious contradicted me. `You don't know if he has good taste or not. I mean, look at the room you're sitting in! Who says he didn't choose every single piece in here? He probably has excellent fashion taste.'

I laughed. "He's not gay!" As my chuckling subsided a few seconds later, having remembered a certain other pilot who had turned out to be...somewhat...different, I realized that it wasn't the fact that he was a man and was telling me his opinion on fashion. 

It was the fact that he felt he could order me around. 

And finally, in that grand light, I figured it out. I figured out why I seemed to have such a strong disliking of Trowa, why the thought of him turned my thoughts instantly homicidal. I knew why. And it put a smile to my face that hadn't been there for years. Grabbing the red dress mentioned in the note, I headed towards the bathroom, stripping off a piece of clothing with each step until I was in the correct outfit for a shower, and closed the door. 

Boy, was supper going to be fun.

* * *

Ooh, ooh, A/Ns!!

*grin* As you have probably noticed, FF.net has undergone some major changes. It doesn't look so bad, I guess...*shrug* Anyhooters, what an exciting chapter, ne? Well, okay, not exciting, but suspenseful? I hope so, you don't know how long I spent writing this...*shakes head, smirking* Yeah, a whole thirty minutes! No, no, kidding...more like a few hours, but that was because I just typed it out on the computer and didn't save time to print it so I could work on it when I got off. Ah, well, it's finally here, after such a long wait...which I apologize for! So...why do you think Sarah dislikes Trowa so much? What's the deal-io? *laughs* No, it's not *just* that he "ordered" her around...there's definitely more to it. For once I know what's going on in the story! Yay! *grin* Well, I hope you read, and review, as you know I only continuing writing for you! (And the threat that Bef will kill me should I happen to even joke about tossing away my pens and paper and give up writing...^-^) Hope you liked! I did!


	20. "Don't make me seriously mad, if you wan...

Chapter 19

"Don't make me seriously mad, if you want to live long." -Duo Maxwell

"Why Sarah, you look marvelous!"

I curtsied politely, flashed a false smile, and took my seat next to Trente, who grinned broadly while staring at me in awe. Smirking, I yanked off my gloves and folded them neatly on my lap, remembering the teachings of my mother, who was versed in all the customs of dinner etiquette. I glanced up quickly and looked Trowa straight in the eye. I didn't quail, I never backed down. I challenged, and he accepted, holding my gaze until Trente asked me to pass the pitcher of iced tea. I wasn't angry at him any more, his presence didn't annoy me...because I understood him. I understood why he had affected me so, and found a way to counter his attack, keeping my cool by mimicking him.

He was exactly like my father.

Dinner wore on, and I found that Trowa did not deprive himself of delicacies I had never even heard of. He and Trente discussed the many cars he owned while I looked around the room, admiring the decor. 'Maybe I was wrong...'

"Don't you think so, Sarah?" 

I quirked a brow at Trente, questioning him as I had not been paying attention. "Ah...hmm?"

"Do you?"

Trowa chuckled quietly, and wiped his mouth fastidiously with a silk napkin that he produced from his lap. "Sarah, what do you think of my decoration?"

"It's very nice."

There was a pause, and it seemed Trowa took as much time as he could to blink his eyes before almost whispering, "What do you really think?" 

I stared at him, my own eyes narrowing in thought. In my peripheral vision I saw Trente raising his eyebrows almost to his hairline, a confused expression crossing his face. "Well?" The man prompted. 

"I..." I was at a loss for words. What to tell him? That I was considering the fact that he might be...a little bit curvier than the normal person? My subconscious, usually present when I was dealing with my father, took over my thought process. 'You'll make him mad. Come on...see how far you can push him. It'll be fun, really!' "I was thinking that your decorator might be homosexual..." An odd glance from Trente pushed me to add, "Or a female."

A smirk graced Trowa's thin lips, almost worthy of mocking me. "I decorated every room you've been in so far. With help, yes, but I chose the design." 

Trente's mouth dropped so low I was sure he would get peas on his chin. I sighed, acting as nonchalant as I could, and yawned, looking away. "Oh, really? I couldn't tell."

The man across the table nodded slowly, corners of his mouth curving upwards slightly as his emerald eyes narrowed to slits while he stared my way, analyzing me. "Well? Do you like it?"

"It's very...interesting. I like how the...maroon is trimmed with gold, those colors go well together. It reminds me of my father's study, only he did his walls in..." I trailed off, noticing Trowa yawning quiet loudly and glancing around the room. I cleared my throat, feeling the anger start to bubble in my veins, and continued, ignoring him the best I could. "He did his walls in hunter green, which really accented the dark wood desk and shelving Mother had installed in there." More yawns caused me to want to continue, to do something to catch the man's attention. "Did you know that my father...ah...has a picture of you?"

Trowa's immediate alertness to my presence caused me to jump slightly as he glared at me, burning gaze making me suddenly feel self-conscious. "What did you say?"

I shifted, uncomfortable suddenly in his midst, and glanced away. "Ah, will you excuse me? I need to...go...to...the powder room." 

Five seconds later I was standing in front of the mirror of the closest bathroom, staring at my reflection. I looked so...scared. Frightened. Why would I-or should I-be frightened? 

It was the intensity with which he looked upon me. I knew it right then and there. It was like being with my father again, who had given me that look many times throughout my childhood. It sent ice-cold fingers trailing up and down my spine, causing me to shiver uncontrollably. I rubbed my bare arms, and then stood back a few feet. 

I did look rather nice...

I shook my head, tossing all thoughts of that horrible glare Trowa had given me away. No. He was just...playing mind tricks, just as Father had. It had to be it. He was testing me, as the others had. Uncle Miliardo tested me on strategic strengths, Wufei tested me on physical strengths, and Duo tested me on emotional strength. Trowa was testing my mentality and ability to deal with mind games. 'It's as if they all...'

'As if they all are working together.' I almost laughed at the thought, and then contradicted myself. 'It's not such an odd probability...it could happen, couldn't it?'

"Sarah? Are you all right?" a deep tenor voice called through the door, startling me momentarily. Dropping my paper towel onto the sink counter, I exhaled loudly and closed my eyes. 

"Yes, I'm fine, Trowa. Thanks for asking."

"Well...you just gave me the oddest look, and...I was concerned." 

So he wasn't exactly like my father. He cared. 'Or he acts like he does, anyway.' "No, I'm fine. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Can I come in?"

Without thinking, I responded with a loud, "Yes!" and then immediately smacked myself in the forehead. The door creaked opened, and I turned to face him, standing in the frame of the doorway with a droll expression on his face. I was confused for a moment, but I brushed it away as 'just another mind trick' and shot a slim smile at him before turning and sitting on the small loveseat against the far wall.

He watched every move I made, and I realized that he always seemed to be doing that: staring at me, and always intensely. He observed me like a bird watcher would an oriole, with a bit of confusion but a large amount of concentration. The atmosphere in the mood hung like a blanket of wet wool over us, dragging us to the ground in silence. 

He broke the ice with, "Do you love your father?" and I was sure I heard every crystal shatter as they collided with reality.

"What?"

"You heard me."

I stared at him, and realized he was serious. 'Well, either that, or he is too much like my father, even mimicking his expressions down the to the slightly raised eyebrow when in inquiry...'

"Sar--"

"I do, dammit. I do." He sighed, and seemed...disappointed in my answer. Disappointed? "What, is that not good enough for you, Trowa?" The most adorable expression of confusion crossed his normally saddened features, and I felt compelled to laugh, however I held it back. 

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, regaining his composure. I shook my head, and glanced past him as Trente entered the room.

The boy flicked an eyebrow towards me, at which I shrugged, and he asked, "What, are we having a party in the bathroom and I wasn't informed?" I laughed lightly, glad to have him there with me, however knowing that I couldn't run from facing Trowa forever. I would have to prove myself, just as I had with the others...

'Too much like a conspiracy.'

"Trente? Could you excuse us, please? I need to discuss something with my goddaughter."

'No!' my thoughts screamed. 'Don't you dare make him leave...!' Duo's son glanced to me as if asking approval, and I felt myself nod, and before I could stop him, he was walking down the hallway to the dining room. I inhaled, filling my lungs, and then sighed, eyes dropping past Trowa to the floor. 

"Sarah? We need to talk. Why do you despise me so?" Again I felt the urge to laugh, yet I managed to restrain myself. 

"Despise is such a...strong word, Trowa." I answered slowly, taking my time to enunciate each syllable. "What made you get that idea?"

He rolled his eyes, and I felt that that was the most emotion anyone had ever seen out of him. "Oh, probably the fact that you haven't said a nice word to me since you found my hiding place."

"Why in the hell did you think you had to kidnap me?" I suddenly shouted, standing up in front of him defiantly. "We could have both been hurt very badly!"

"You were hurt very badly." he stated quietly, sighing.

"Wha--" I paused, thinking this over. Trente said that we had been there...three days? Or was it four? My head ached from the adrenaline rush, and I reached out to the wall to steady myself. "How badly are we talking about?"

"You were drifting in and out of consciousness for about a week, Sarah. Trente didn't wake up until he arrived at my complex, which meant he was unconscious for about four days before that. You were taken to a local hospital first, and then I found out about it when it hit the news. I didn't think twice about it until I saw your picture, and...you resemble both your parents so well I'm surprised no one recognized you and identified you. I checked you out of the hospital after producing fake birth certificates, identification cards, and social security information stating that you were my dependent, and brought you to my special hospital."

The information came as a slight shock to me, however the fact that he had the means to produce such items didn't surprise me in the least. "Why did you keep me in a room that resembled a hospital and keep up the nurse charade?"

A light red tint rushed to Trowa's cheeks and ears, and he rubbed his neck slowly with the palm of his hand. "For observation purposes."

"Observation?"

"Yes. I...wanted to see how much you really were like your father and mother...although you must know, you don't recover as quick as your father did from being in a car accident. You scar easier, too. Look down the front of your left shin."

I frowned, knowing I hadn't checked myself over for scars, and then reached down to lift up the hem of my dress. There was a long red line running the length of my shin, stretching from my knee cap to my ankle. "Where are the stitches?"

He smirked. "Stitches? You practically closed up yourself, without any help from the doctors. I looked you over when you arrived here, and that had almost completely healed, however there will most definitely be a scar, judging by the other scars you've received. I perceive Heero has...trained you?"

I nodded, and continued to analyze my leg, amazed that I hadn't noticed that before. "You mean that most people don't heal this quickly?"

"No. If I had gotten that deep a cut on my leg, I would still be wrapped up now, even if it happened a month ago. You did get your father's genes in that department, but not completely." He shrugged, eyebrows raising as he did so in a comical expression. "How did he train you?"

"The same way he was trained."

The impassive expression faded from his face rather quickly and he frowned, eyebrows furrowing over his nose to create huge wrinkles in his forehead. "It can't have been." Again I nodded, and glanced up to look at him, lips pursed. "Then...why are you...you?"

"What do you mean?"

"We all went through the same training. Heero, however, went through something a little more...painstakingly difficult than the rest of us. For you to have gone through it as well...I'm surprised that you still have enough human left in you to think Trente is attractive. Most of us...barely survived our own training..." I blushed, grinning broadly, and then noticed the faraway look in Trowa's eyes. "It was...hard, to say the least."

"Well..." I said, then drifted off. Why had I been able to survive Father's rigorous training? "Maybe it's because...of my determination. And my...ah..." A brief respite in my deep thoughts and an ocean of memories came flooding forward, showing me the stiff upper lip I was forced to keep every time I failed. Was it because of...my yearning to prove myself in front of my father, the ever present critic?

Trowa sighed, and placed a comforting hand on my forearm, causing me to jump slightly. "It really doesn't matter how you survived, just that you did. You are definitely Heero and Relena's child..." he shook his head while saying, chuckling quietly to himself. Almost silently, he added under his breath, "Although how they managed to stop their running around in circles long enough to conceive you, I don't know..."

I stood, yawning. "Are we done with this conversation?"

The man I was questioning flicked an eyebrow at me, slightly taken aback at my abruptness, and nodded. "As long as you stop being perpetually rude to me..."

"As long as you stop..." I paused. Should I say it? "As long as you stop being so damn much like my father."

Trowa smiled. "Watch your language, young lady."

***

A/N: Yeah, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but...here it is! Now I must work on Chapter 20, ne? My Kami...chapter 20. I'm surprised I've kept up with it this long, but you know...it's your reviews that make me! 

A reviewed author is a happy author, if you take my meaning! *grin* Thanks much for being so patient.


	21. "Life is cheap...especially mine."

Chapter 20

"Life is cheap...especially mine." -Heero Yuy

I smiled and walked out of the door, shaking my hips flirtatiously. "Hey now!" Trowa called after me. I flashed a grin towards him and continued down the hall towards my room. Our problems were finally resolved, and I felt as though a weight was lifted from my shoulder, for lack of a better simile.

"Sarah!"

I stopped dead in my tracks, and my content mood heightened ever more as I heard Trente's husky voice. Turning to face him, I composed myself to a nonchalant expression and asked quietly, "Yes?"

"What were you two talking about?"

I winked at him. "Oh, nothing."

"Sarah…"

"What?"

He frowned at me, then wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. "Please tell me! What were you talking about?"

"Oh," I said, lips drawn up in a broad smile. "Just godfather to goddaughter stuff. Don't worry about it. Everything's fine." I smiled as his moist lips brushed against my cheek.

"You sure?" he asked, expression imploring.

"Sure," I replied.

"Really?"

"Really really. Now let me go! I have to get out of this dress and get my things ready. We've already been here too long. It's time to move on," I stated while pulling away from his warm embrace.

Trente's eyes flew wide. "Already? But…we just got here!" he pleaded as his eyebrows drew down to a point between his crystal blue eyes. This expression, although adorable by all means, did not phase my decision, or my stern attitude towards it.

"No, my dear…we've been here for seven days already. We both just woke up, though, so it seems like we just got here. We leave tomorrow at dawn."

The famed 'Maxwell Puppy Eyes' shot in my direction as Trente tried once more to change my mind. " I don't want to leave tomorrow, Sar! Can't we just stay for a day or so more? Don't you want to get to know your godfather?" He asked while leaning in close to me. I scowled at him and turned my back as I crossed my arms.

"Well, I suppose you can stay," I reluctantly stated. "But I'm leaving tomorrow at dawn, with or without you. Our next pilot is Quatre, and who knows where he lives? He could live all the way in outer space, for all I know!" I turned to face him but was immediately confused by the odd expression on his face. "What?"

While pursing his lips, Trente's eyes settled on the richly embellished hall runner under our feet. "He does," he whispered.

"Who does what?

"Quatre lives in outer space."

"What?!"

Duo's son nodded slowly, those eyes I loved staring into still focused on the floor. "Quatre Raberba Winner, previous pilot of the Gundam Sandrock, lives in outer space at the Winner Foundation Mansion. Everyone knows that," he declared matter-of-factly. I breathed deeply and contemplated this last statement. Sure, everyone knew that…but me. 

"Yeah, everyone knows that. Sure." I brushed past him and headed as quickly as my heels would allow to the room I was staying in, tears sneakily leading their way out onto my cheeks only to be flung aside by my fingers as I wiped them from existence. If Trente called after me, I didn't hear him. Shutting my door, I made my way to the bathroom and began to take my hair down. As my hair brushed down against my shoulders in soft sways, I walked out into the sleeping area of my room and pulled off my heels, reveling in the relief that instantly washed over my formerly aching feet.

"Why did that upset you, when Trente said that everyone knows where Quatre lives?" a familiar voice called from nearby. Facing the source, I sighed and continued to pull off my panty hose.

"What are you, a spy?" I asked sarcastically.

Trowa nodded. "Yes. No quit avoiding the question. Why did it upset you?"

Annoyed, I inquired nastily, "Are you just going to sit there while I change?"

Another nod from the tall man sitting on the edge of my bed 

heightened my impatience to be rid of his absence, yet he persisted in his questioning. "Why, Peacecraft?"

My eyes flashed up to his face, which resembled a blank piece of paper, at the use of this very personal nickname. "Don't ever call me that again, Trowa," I stated angrily, emphasizing each syllable. "Ever."

Trowa's stony expression never flickered for an instant, just remained as emotionless as a brick wall. "Answer my question, Sarah."

I turned from him, determined to keep him from seeing the hot droplets of emotion spring from my eyes, and shook my head. "I don't know why it upset me," I answered with a choke in my throat. "It just did."

"There has to be a reason. People don't get upset for no reason. What could possibly be the reason?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me, you're so smart!" I shouted while facing him, hands on my hips as my emotion switched drastically to anger. 

"Thank you for the compliment, but not every genius is a mind-reader," he responded lightly while polishing his nails on his shirt.

By this time, I could not take it any longer. "Why do you have to be so much like him? Why does it matter how I feel? Why do you care?"

"Because he and I went through the same training and we understand each other. Because you're family. Because you're my best friend's daughter." I stood still, arms crossed, and bowed my head in front of him. I could not give into my emotions in his presence, I told myself, because that is a weakness. My father's mantra chanted itself in my mind: 'Your emotions show your heart, and when your heart is exposed, it is more easily attacked. Never disclose your feelings, for they, in the end, will do you in.' Feet appeared in my sight line as I realized Trowa had stood and walked over to me. He paused for a brief moment, and then encased me in his strong arms, forming my body to his. I felt his soft hand smooth my hair over in a gesture that was, oddly enough, comforting. Not stiff or militaristic, but consoling and caring. He was like my father, yes, but without the emotional struggle my father endured every day. Without the emotional struggle I endured every day.

"Honey, why don't you just tell me what's bothering you?" Trowa asked softly. I shook my head and continued to cry, feeling his shirt against my face slowly get more and more damp as it soaked my tears.

"Please?" he pleaded while stroking my back and trailing his long, delicate fingers over my spine. I shivered involuntarily, tears subsiding momentarily, and pulled my arms tighter into my body to preserve warmth. I was suddenly very cold and tired, my least favorite combination of feelings.

I held onto him as a child would a favorite teddy bear, and shut my eyes tight. "We're leaving tomorrow at dawn," I spoke into his shirt, dignity wanting to sound strong, but vocal chords creating a scared, weak croak from my throat instead.

"You are?"

I forced myself to nod. "Yes," was my muffled reply as I inhaled the intoxicatingly familiar smell of his cologne.

Old Spice.

The same thing my father wore.

"Why are you leaving so soon, Sarah?" Trowa asked quietly a few moments later. I answered with, "Because Quatre lives in outer space and that's quite a journey, if I'm not mistaken."

"Just because of the travel issue?"

Confusion muddled my brain. "Travel issue?"

A light chuckle brushed through Trowa's lips, starting deep down in his chest in an echoing rumble. "Your only reason for leaving so soon is because it is a bit of a trip to Quatre's?" I nodded, unable to force myself awake enough to answer as I slowly drifted into the cloud-filled dreamland of sleep, lulled there by emotional strain, the warmth of his body, and the smell of him, which seeped into my every pore and took hold of my senses. "I don't believe you," he stated firmly.

"Hm?"

Upsetting me, he pulled me from his embrace and held me at arm's length. "Why are you leaving tomorrow?"

I frowned. "I told you."

"Why else?"

"What do you mean? That's all. There is nothing else to say."

He sighed, his jade eyes adopting a sudden look of weariness. "Why are you so much like your father?" An almost invisible smile barely lifted the corners of his mouth as he added, "I should be asking you that instead of you asking me." Trowa stared at me intensely, causing me to shift uncomfortably in his gaze. I was not used to such scrutiny, and did not enjoy it in the least. Looking away, I bit my lip and breathed deeply.

"I'm tired. I think I'm going to go to bed now." 

A pained expression passed over Trowa's features as I said this, however he nodded and dropped his arms from my shoulders. Slowly, his left hand rose again and he extended a finger to trace my jaw.

I watched, amazed, as his grace would rival that of a ballet dancer, he was so smooth in his movements. "Well, then I suppose I should leave you be, then." My head slowly bobbed up and down in a movement of consent, and without looking at me, he strode towards the door. I feared he would leave in an upset mood and without saying goodnight, yet he turned before his feet met the doorjamb and looked me in the eye. "Good night, Sarah. I hope you sleep well. What time would you like to be woken up?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, then glanced back at the clock behind me. "Five o-clock, if you don't mind."

A shadow of a smile pulled his lips upwards. 

"Of course, Sarah." Without a second glance back, he left my room, closing the door softly behind him. I sat still, stunned, on the edge of my bed until finally standing and unzipping my dress. I moved in a trance, not paying attention to what I did, until eventually I was in a large t-shirt that I found in the closet and pulling the covers for my bed aside. 

Yet before I laid down, my mind did a quick U-turn and I was walking down the hall before I knew it. I did not know my destination, yet I followed the hallway until I came upon a large ballroom, elegantly decorated as the rest of the house was. I walked across the recently waxed hardwood floor, shivering involuntarily as my bare feet slid over the panels. I stood underneath the large chandelier in the middle of the room and looked up at it, blinking back my tears as I stared at the multitude of miniature candles adorning it. I sat down on the floor, still watching the large golden light above me, and breathed deeply. Light music, sounding much like a lullaby of my past, began to play in the empty room, filling it with a false sense of security and comfort. Swaying with the music, I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around my goose-bump covered body. 

"It's not that cold in here, is it?"

"You must have a surveillance system in here, don't you?" I glanced towards the tall man leaning against the wall, smile forming on my lips. 

"Of course I do. You've seen the size of this place. It's humongous. I have to protect my investments." Trowa smirked. 

"Right."

The lullaby took over our conversation, and I closed my eyes again, reveling in the childishly comforting tune. Soon I could not control myself and began to hum along with it, all the time swaying back and forth in time with it, until I felt long-fingered, ice-cold hands settle on my shoulders. I looked up with a start at Trowa, tears streaming down my cheeks, and buried my face into his chest as he kneeled next to me. "I just...I don't understand it. I don't know why I am the way I am. I wish he was different, but at the same time, I wouldn't like it if he was."

"Sarah...he's your father. He will always be your father no matter what. True, he has some problems, but everyone has problems. What you need to do is learn to get past them and see the true Heero underneath that shell he has built up around him."

I tried to speak, however my words were muddled with tears as they clogged my nose and leaked down the back of my throat, choking me momentarily. Trowa handed me a tissue he produced from his pocket and I blew my nose. "It's hard when he doesn't want you to break down the shell, though," I protested eventually.

Trowa's hand found its way underneath my chin and lifted it up. "He does."

I frowned at him, confused by this. "What are you talking about? How do you know?"

"Because I do. Trust me on this one, Sarah."

"Trust is hard to come by when your father is Heero Yuy."

His hand dropped from my chin and he stood up over me. "That is completely untrue and you have no basis for that declaration whatsoever." My eyebrows raised as he said this, as I was surprised at his sudden exclamation of defense for my father. "Heero Yuy is the first person in this world I did learn to trust. He was always there for me when I needed it, and whenever there was something that had to be done, he did it without question. I'm sure he was the same way while raising you, however you were so caught up in your own problems that you never noticed it. When something upset you, was he there?"

I thought back over my childhood. "Yes, but telling me to get up and stop whining about it. He never offered me any comfort when I hurt the most, and that's why I have such trust issues. How can you trust someone who, in hurting you the most, told you to get over it and live life?"

"Very easily. You just do. Do you want to know why he always said that?" I nodded with conviction and stood so I didn't feel so insignificant in his presence, he was so much taller than I was. "Because he was so proud of you that he never wanted you to fail. He wanted to make sure that you got the most out of life, and didn't spend your time moping about some little problem that you would not remember in ten years, or, even ten minutes. Heero did everything he could to prepare you for the real world, the world that kicks you when you're down and laughs as you writhe in pain. He never wanted you to experience that, but he still prepared you for the day he knew would come. If he didn't care, do you think he would have continued training you and spending time with you? He could have became a recluse after Mariemaia, but he didn't." At this, Trowa paused to consider something. "Well, he did to the rest of the world, but to Relena, he did not. He vowed to spend the rest of his life with her, and they produced you. You are what has his attention, his care, his love...his trust. 

"When he called me to tell me that Relena was pregnant, I was amazed at how happy he sounded. He was joyful beyond joyfulness. Many that knew him would not have thought that type of emotion possible in his psyche because we all remembered him as the stony, cold-hearted SOB that could kick anybody's ass, in his Gundam or not. But he was in tears when he told me that he was going to have a child, a kid to call his own. No matter what you need, he will always be there, even if you shut him out. He's your father, Sarah, and nothing will change the bond you two share."

I brought the tissue he had handed me earlier back up to my face as my nose was clogged again. After blowing my nose several times and wiping my cheeks on my shirt, I finally looked into Trowa's sympathetic face, enraptured by his gleaming jade eyes filled with emotion. Speechless, I wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him with all my might, and was instantly comforted when I felt his arms encircle my shoulders and squeeze tightly. "Thank you," I whispered.

He chuckled lightly. "For what?"

"For opening my eyes. Thank you."

Trowa pulled me from him and smiled warmly, nodding. "Of course. Now go to bed! I'll wake you up at five."

Suddenly the thought of only getting three to four hours of sleep seemed very unwelcome. "Ah...do you think you could maybe push that time back a few hours? Or perhaps...ah, a day?" 

"How about I get you up when I'm done making waffles in the morning, okay? About, oh, say, nine-o-clock?"

I nodded. "Sure."


End file.
